New Sakura
by MarzSpy
Summary: What do you do when everyone thinks you're dead, thanks to a new girl? She replaced you in every way and Sakura can't cope with it. She was dead, so what was there to do in the hell she lived in? Of course, join her hellmates in Akatsuki. Yet, she soon comes to find out that rebuilding everything you once had is harder than she thought. Good thing Akatsuki is there to help!
1. Dead

**Hello there people! I've had this story bugging me for a while, and I told myself I would post this up after I finished 'Sakura's Heavenly Mistake'… Unfortunately, my mind couldn't wait that long and I just had to see what you all thought about this X) No worries though, this won't slow me down too much… I don't plan to update this much until that story is done, just as a warning! :O**

**This story takes place when they are all around 20… Asuma is still alive!! But Gaara doesn't have the Jinchuuriki anymore and Orochimaru is dead. Deidara is still alive :)… that's about it I guess… Oh, and Hidan, Sasori, and Kakuzu are still alive!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters in any way, shape, or form. Thought I'd let you all know now :)**

**P.S. before I begin, I'd like to say I'm still looking for a good title for the story… I wasn't able to find a very suitable one and this one will not be permanent… just until I find a better one…**

**New Sakura**

Hurt/Comfort/Drama/Romance

Sakura x Itachi Sakura x Sasuke _(in the beginning)_

A new girl named Saki appears in Konoha and she is jealous of Sakura. While on an A ranked mission with her Team 7, including Saki, Saki fakes Sakura's death and tells everyone she died when in truth, she tries to kill Sakura, gravely injures her, and leaves her there to die. A month later, Sakura appears and finds out Saki has taken her place… and is living her life as apprentice of the fifth, permanent team member of team 7, Sasuke's girlfriend, and Ino's best friend. Hurt, she runs away, and gets captured by Akatsuki.

What do you do when your loved ones moved on, thinking you were dead, replacing you with a new girl? She trashed your life, jealousy overpowering her, and took your place in everyone's life. Lonely and sad, Sakura walks around, and unexpectedly runs into the Akatsuki. She was dead, so what else was there to do in the hell she lived in? Of course, join her hell mates in an eternal struggle to live.

**Chapter 1: Dead**

A small child about the age of 8 laughed and giggled with her older sister, about 10 years old around a field full of flowers. They each had black hair and dark brown eyes with plain clothes on.

The 8 year old stopped suddenly, seeing a few drops of red liquid.

"Hey Suzumi-neechan, what is that?" the younger of the two asked.

Curious, the one named Suzumi came up to her sister, bent down, and examined it. "I don't know Suki, I think it's… blood." Suzumi said, unsure.

"Look, there's more over here!" the one known as Suki said, pointing ahead of them. The two girls looked at each other, and nodded, grabbing each other's hand sand following the trail of blood. The trail led away from the field of wild flowers, and behind a tall, tree. The specks of blood had grown bigger a while back and the girls looked at each other hesitantly. Suzumi braved up and looked behind the tree.

A gasp escaped her lips. "Suki! Get Okaa-san immediately!" Suzumi said, putting a hand on her mouth is shock. Laying there, in front of her was a young lady, about the age of 19 or 20 at the most. Suki stood next to her sister, shocked at what she saw.

The girl had a deep gash on her abdomen, and blood drenching her face all over. At first, Suzumi thought her hair was red, but with further inspection, she realized the red was just all the blood she had lost.

The girl slowly and painfully opened her eyes. "Help… me…" she said, closing her eyes once again as her breathing slowed and wheezed, and a few coughs escaped her lips, sending blood flying to the floor.

"Suki hurry! I'll stay with her… go get Okaa-san!" she yelled, urging her little sister away from the horrid scene. She hesitated, but nodded, glancing at the poor lady once more, before dashing off in the opposite direction.

"Onee-chan?" Suzumi asked, wondering if she was still alive. Her lids opened briefly, before falling back down seconds later. "You're going to be okay, Suki is getting Okaa-san here. She'll be able to help you!" Suzuki said, rushing to the girl's side and holding her hand gently for support while making sure she didn't hurt her further.

Suzumi heard the girl let out a low, raspy breath. "Thank… you…" she said, before her voice died out yet again.

Suzumi examined the girl. She was clad in a metal uniform with a porcelain cat mask around her neck with strange red markings. She had a tattoo on her left arm, going somewhat in a swirl. Her hair, with further inspection, Suzumi was able to realize was a light, bubble gum pink. And her eyes, which Suzumi remembered from before when she opened her eyes, were beautiful and bright. They were emerald eyes but they looked distant and were fading; she was dying. If her mother didn't get there soon, that might be the end of her.

"Okaa-san! Otou-san! Hurry over here!" Suzumi turned around and saw Suki, and per parents rushing over where she was.

"Oh dear!" her mom said, letting out a gasp. She wiped her hands on her apron as she bent down and touched Sakura's neck gently. "She's still breathing; she has a chance. It's very faint though." She said, getting up.

"Dear, take her to our home please." She said, eyeing her husband. The man nodded and picked Sakura's limp body up, bridal style, and hurriedly walked away from the field, towards the small village a few minutes away.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sakura let out a long, painful gasp as she clutched her abdomen. That little _bitch. _How could she possibly… how could she do that to her?! Sakura appeared in a field of wild flowers after teleporting herself away from that damn bitch.

She limped her way away from the flowers, towards a tree where she leaned on it and grasps as the pain struck her like a flash of lightning. She closed her eyes, not having enough strength to keep them open anymore, and cursed her name several times.

Of all the times to attack her, it had to be when her chakra was depleted –no thanks to having to heal her team- and when they were alone, in the middle of an attack. She had to admit though, she was smart. She knew she didn't like her the first time she laid eyes on her. Flirting with _her _Sasuke and acting as if Ino were _her _best friend.

Sakura tried her best to act kind to her, but she wouldn't budge. She just had an ultimate grudge on her. _'Jealous bitch should burn in hell.' _Sakura thought angrily. Sakura's breathing slowed as she started feeling her life slowly slip from her fingers.

Sakura lifted her hand up, and brought her cat mask down, finding it hard to breath with it. She let her arm fall limp on the floor afterwards as she surveyed her injuries with her chakra. She had bashed her skull, succeeding in opened her skin. She had also broke her leg, and gotten stabbed in the abdomen by a katana.

Not only that, but an earth jutsu –made by the bitch- pierced her right lung, explaining why Sakura couldn't breathe well. She also had many other deep gashes, bruises, and injuries all around her body. And to top it all off, she had put a jutsu on Sakura, not letting her access and use her chakra for who knows how long. It didn't have to be too long though… she was going to die from the loss of blood and major injuries anyway… Sakura just couldn't feel them because her body had gone numb long since she appeared on the field of flowers.

'_It's only a matter of time before I die.' _Sakura thought as she struggled to stay conscious. Hours seemed to pass as Sakura sat there, feeling her life slipping away from her… in truth, it had been about 5 minutes. How much longer would she have to suffer? She couldn't just die here and now?

Sakura heard a loud gasp in front of her. "Suki get Okaa-san immediately!" she heard a small voice say. She tried to open her eyes, but it her so much. After mustering up her strengths, she managed to open them ever so slightly. "Help… me…" Sakura muttered, closing her eyes again.

'_Help me end this pain and kill me already.' _She thought sadly. The chances of her living were very slim. Considering she didn't see a village anywhere near, and she had to chakra to heal herself any further.

'_My only regrets… are not saying good bye to everyone… and not beating the __**crap **__out of that bitch.' _Sakura thought. Her anger made her realize, just how stupid it was letting herself get beaten up by this girl.

'_No… I can't die yet. Not until I prove to her I am __**not **__her bitch. She is going to pay… the Haruno way.' _Sakura thought as she heard a woman approach her. She felt herself get picked up and all though all her limbs were screaming in pain and agony, she refused to let out a whimper. She would not let her have the satisfaction of knowing she was in pain, and about to die.

She felt herself being brought into a small cottage of some sort but did not dare open her eyes; it would be much too painful.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"That's it… ease her down gently on the bed." The woman known as Sera said.

"Okaa-san, will she be okay?" Suki asked her mother, worried.

"I don't know what to say Suki… the odds of her living are honestly against her. Please go and see if there's a medic available anywhere." Sera ordered. Suki nodded as she hurried out the door.

"Hiroto, dear, please step out of the house." She said, eyeing her husband. He complied and exited. "Suzuki, please get me some cloth and some water." She ordered as she eyed the girl. Suzuki nodded as she left.

Sera started to take the armor off of Sakura while making sure she didn't deepen any injuries. "Can you still speak?" she asked, putting the armor down on the floor. Sakura let out a small noise from the back of her throat.

"Your name please?" she asked, removing all her clothes next.

"S-Sa…kura" she muttered slowly.

"That's a nice name dear. A medic will arrive shortly to tend for your wounds. I'm going to wipe the blood off of you okay?" she said as Suzuki appeared with the water and a moist cloth.

"Hm" Sakura muttered, flinching a tiny bit as her throat stung.

After wiping a tiny bit of the blood, Suki rushed in with three medics following suit. "Oh dear, what happened to this child?" one of them said, hurrying to her side.

"We found her in the field of wild flowers." Suki answered, standing aside as the medics inspected her.

"We don't have much time. Ladies, let's get to work." The same medic responded as all of them nodded and got down to business. One went straight for Sakura's head, as she took out a needle and a thread and started stitching up the wound while Sera helped by removing the blood, and holding up the hair.

The other medic worked on the big gash on her abdomen while the other worked on her right lung, that one being the one that had been pierced with a katana.

"Suki and Suzuki, get us some more water and more cloths please." Sera ordered. They both nodded as they took the bin and cloth stained and filled with now red water, and went to get some more. They came back with five cloths and more water.

Hours passed and all Sakura could do was stay there, listening and _feeling _as the medics stitched her up. Did they know medical ninjutsu at all? That hurt like _hell! _Apparently, they didn't considering they didn't use any at all throughout the whole surgery! Sakura didn't complain though, she had a few reasons not to.

They were saving her life. How could she possibly not be grateful?

Showing pain, would be showing weakness. She was definitely not the same little weak girl she used to be when Sasuke left her.

She would not show pain caused by the likes of _**her**_

The hours seemed to be days as the medics worked on her body. Sakura couldn't do anything… she didn't even think she had enough strength to cry out in pain. That was just how exhausted she was.

The medics finished patching up all of her injuries about an hour later, and Sakura was thankful that her torture was all over with.

"We've done all we could have done to help her." The medics said with sighs.

"Thank you so much." Sera said, bowing towards them.

"I s-should b-be the o-one to t-thank you a-all." Sakura muttered; her eyes still closed. She couldn't understand how she could muster up the strength to speak.

"Oh dear, you have to rest up, please don't talk." Sera begged, feeling pity for the girl. Sakura simply nodded, and closed her eyes, drifting off into a never ending sleep.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"_Sakura, you five have been called here to inform you that you will have an extra member added to your team."Tsunade spoke._

"_But our team already has five." Sakura said._

"_I am aware of that… this new team member will only be with you for a few months though… just a substitute member to say the least." Tsunade explained. Sakura simply nodded as she stared at her team._

_Naruto, Sai, Kakashi, and Sasuke. Her gaze lingered on Sasuke. She was so glad he had come back and now, she was happier than ever. He had come back 2 years ago and now, she was going out with him. Sakura inwardly giggled as she felt butterflies in her stomach; how lucky was she? She had long since given up in the fan girl act. In fact, the first thing she did to Sasuke when she saw his face was give him a very powerful blow to the face. After that, she cursed his name hundreds of times, before hugging him and welcoming him back. Bipolar much?_

_Sasuke caught Sakura staring at him and quickly squeezed her hand. Sakura just gave him a smile back and faced the Hokage._

"_And please treat her with respect and kindness." Tsunade said, finishing off her sentence._

_The girl had golden eyes with a light brown hair color. She was also a bit shorter than Sakura herself, and had an outfit on much like her own when she was a Genin. The only difference was that it was blue and it had no circle, much like her own used to have. She bowed down and gave each of them a bright smile. She turned to Sasuke and a blush grazed her features. She turned her gaze towards Sakura, and the smile still showed, but Sakura could tell; it was totally fake._

'_What's her problem?' Sakura thought angrily. She had done nothing to the girl so what was the cold should she was giving her about?_

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_A week passed since her stay with Team Kakashi. Sakura really didn't understand why she was ANBU. Her skills reminded her of herself when she was Chunin. She had no real specialty and she was really only good at genjutsu. She wasn't even a medic or anything. Just plain and boring. Sakura couldn't help but feel she didn't like her, she would always treat Sakura coldly in an indirect way._

_Sakura finally caught up at Ichiraku's ramen and found Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke were there already waiting for her. She smiled as she walked over there slowly, walking towards the seat next to Sasuke. As soon as she was about to sit there, she was shoved out of the way as she saw her… __**teammate **__sit next to Sasuke and give her a fake smile._

"_I guess you have to sit somewhere else." she said teasingly with a smile but Sakura could see right through that. Sakura sat next to Sai instead. He, similar to her, could see right past her fake self. Sai was an expert at showing fake emotions and detecting lies; so truthfully, he would be able to spot them too. And he, spotted nothing but fake emotions and lies in that girl._

"_Good afternoon, ugly." He said with a smile etched on his face._

"_Good to see you to Sai" Sakura said with a smile._

"_Good afternoon Sai!"_

_Sai frowned slightly as he looked her way. "Afternoon… it was good until I saw your ugly face." He stated, not even showing her a fake smile. All she did was giggle which Sakura really didn't understand. Maybe she was thinking that was a compliment considering he always called her a bitch and always called her ugly. Either way, she definitely couldn't tell the two apart. Not only was that new girl, Saki dense, but she couldn't even tell when Sai was joking around._

_Sakura would be able to tell in a heartbeat, and Sai knew that. Saki on the other hand, couldn't tell the difference between Sai when he was happy, or Sai when he was about to kill you._

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"_You don't deserve to have Sasuke-kun's love. You don't deserve to have Ino's friendship. You don't deserve to have the title of the apprentice to the fifth Hokage. You don't even deserve to have the title to be called Konoha's best kunoichi!"the person Sakura thought was her teammate said as she stabbed Sakura in the lung._

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sakura sprang up from her bed abruptly. Damn, her dreams were all invaded by someone she really didn't want in them. She looked around the room; light was shining through so it was obviously day time.

"I see you've woken up now. I was starting to worry."

Sakura looked to her left finding Sera there wiping her wet hands on her apron. "How long have I been out?" Sakura asked, stretching slightly until pain soared through her body. She was only expecting a few days really… considering her wounds were still looking fresh.

"About a week." She stated worriedly.

"What?!" Sakura asked, shocked.

"It's true… the medics said you were in a comma. Distressed for some reason." She explained, walking over to her.

"But my wounds haven't healed yet…" she explained trailing off.

"Dear, those wounds are very deep… they're not going to disappear in a day." She explained.

Sakura shook her head. Of course they wouldn't… they didn't use medical ninjutsu like she was so used to using. "Yeah, I should have guessed. I'm sorry for intruding for so long." Sakura said. "I really shouldn't intrude much longer…" Sakura trailed off trying to lift herself up. She immediately felt pain on her lower abdomen.

"Oh dear I think you've opened up the stitches." Sera said rushing towards her. Sakura took the blankets off of her and indeed, she was bleeding.

Sera rushed to her side, a needle and some string all ready. She began stitching everything up once again while Sakura tried to start up a conversation, trying to ignore the pain the best she could.

"Where exactly am I?" Sakura asked.

"You're in a small village around the borders of the Sound." Sera said. Sakura nodded. Last she heard of sound, it had become a brutal place to live in after Orochimaru died. Bandits started taking over since it had no leader anymore.

"Do you have any raids in your town?" Sakura asked.

Sera nodded. "Fortunately, not yet. This is one of the very few towns that hasn't been caught in the war going on in Sound. We were a quiet and peaceful village that only did subsistence farming… rice is what keeps us alive." She explained.

"So people here farm rice?" Sakura said.

"We do… we only fear that the war follows us and we get caught up in it too. We have very little money and an even smaller amount of food. We only make enough to survive, with a tiny amount left over for special occasions." She said worried.

"Okaa-san we're home!" Suzuki said opening the door. Her curious face turned happy when she saw Sakura awake.

"Nee-chan's awake!" she said excitedly running towards Sakura. Sakura gave a simple smile.

"I am very thankful you found me. I would probably be dead now if you found me any later." She said patting the small girl on the head.

Suzuki simply shook her head. "It's my pleasure. I'm glad you're safe now." She said.

"Thanks for your concern." She said, with a smile. Sakura put her hand on her head as she felt the stitch. It would be troublesome getting that to heal. Especially now since her chakra was off limits. She flinched slightly, now feeling her whole body sore.

Sakura lay back down in the bed, feeling rather miserable. She had never gotten this gravely injured before… Now she knew how Naruto and Sasuke must have felt way back in the Genin days when they would go out of their way to save her life… even if it meant being in a hospital bed for several months…

It hurt knowing she had done this to Sasuke and Naruto… curse her for being so weak back in the days… That had all changed though… hadn't it?

_Had it?_

She wasn't strong enough to even protect herself… did she honestly get any stronger? Sure, she was an ANBU now… but…

'_Am I still the same as my Genin self?'_

No… her genin self hadn't been able to save Naruto and Sasuke before… she had only been a hindrance to Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi. She hadn't been able to do one good thing for them besides keeping them close for all those years… Even that didn't prove to be that good when Sasuke left them, tearing everything Sakura had worked so hard to build up. Her thoughts were interrupted when Sera spoke.

"Mind me asking Sakura dear, but how exactly did you get in that situation?" Sera asked unsurely as she saw Sakura's face grow dark and serious. "You don't have to answer if you don't wish to." Sera said quickly, shaking her head. "It's just that… for someone to give you those many injuries… it had to be personal… and you look like the sweetest thing on earth… Who would possibly want to hurt you like this?" Sera asked worriedly.

"It's okay Sera. You saved my life… I think it's fair that I tell you what happened to me…" Sakura trailed off, looking down sadly as she remembered what had happened to her.

"I was betrayed by someone who was supposed to be my teammate. She tried to kill me for reasons unknown to me. I don't understand what I have ever done to her to make her despise me so." Sakura said, a mixture of anger and sadness in her voice.

"Oh dear… I'm so sorry." Sera said, her eyes widening slightly.

"It's okay. I'll get my pay back once I get back. I can't possibly burden you all like this for too long." Sakura said.

"No dear, you are much too weak to leave. To make you move would be asking for too much. You must stay until you are well." Sera insisted.

Sakura shook her head. "I can't"

"You can" Sera compelled, feeling worry overpower her.

"I must get back to Konoha… you said it had been a week already… They must think I am dead…" Sakura trailed off, seeing images of her loved ones and family members.

Sasuke… Naruto… Sai… Kakashi… Ino… Hinata… Tsunade-shishou… Shizune… TenTen… Kiba… Neji… Shikamaru… everyone…

They all thought her for dead…

And all because of Saki… she would pay… for everything she had done to her…

A single tear rolled down Sakura's cheek, the pain and sadness becoming too much for her. How would it make you feel if everyone you know thought u were dead? Would Sasuke move on? Would Ino find a new best friend? Would Tsunade-shishou find a new apprentice?

"Dear?" Sera asked unsurely, seeing she had touched a delicate subject.

Sakura stiffly wiped her tears away, only for them to be replaced by more.

"I'm sorry… it's just… hard. I-"

Sera shook her head. "You don't need to explain yourself to me. It must be hard. If you wish to, you may leave. I insist you stay though, and you are welcome back if you change your mind." Sera said, before she took her children and left the village, leaving Sakura there to weep.

Sakura swung her legs over the bed, and slowly stood up. She limped out of the house, and found herself walking towards a big field of wild flowers. This had been where she had almost lost her life…

Her life…

Was it worth it? Sakura looked at herself up and down. Without her chakra she was doomed. She had gone through too much… she didn't want this pain anymore!

Her loved ones most likely thought she was dead. For several weeks she had thought she was dead, not being able to tell if she had gone to heaven, hell, or neither. While sleeping she had been haunted… haunted by the dreams of Saki…

Sakura roughly leaned back on a bark of tree, feeling her energy drain fast. She was still gravely injured, what can you expect? Sakura wheezed in the chill autumn air, feeling shivers crawl up her spine. It was turning into winter slowly but steadily… it was only a matter of time before the warm colors and wild flowers died, and winter came, bringing with it nothing but white.

Sakura sighed miserably, feeling a wave of nostalgia went through her.

The Christmas' she and Sasuke had spent together for the past 2 years…

The times she and Ino would stay up all night, gossiping and sharing stories…

The time she would train with Naruto and yell at him for injuring himself…

No… she had to go back… she had to be strong. If she ever wanted to relive those moments… she had to be strong, and survive these few weeks.

Sakura inhaled deeply, and jerked herself up quickly. After that, she limped back across the field of flowers and back to the village, where she searched for the same cottage she had been in before. By this time, she had to hang on to things for support so that she wouldn't fall over.

When she finally made it back to the right cottage, she opened the door, and saw Sera there, cutting some carrots. She looked at the door and smiled gingerly. "Nice to have you back Sakura." Sera said as she stopped cutting the vegetables momentarily.

"I know I can't make it in this condition." Sakura admitted. "I ask that you please let me stay here for a few days, max a few weeks, so I may get better. I promise not to bother you for too long." Sakura pleaded, dragging herself across the small cottage to the bed she had been resting on previously.

"You are more than welcome to stay here Sakura." Sera answered, resuming the cutting of the vegetables.

"Thanks you so much for your kindness and generosity Sera. I deeply appreciate it." Sakura spoke, her tone growing heavy as her eyes started closing. She had used up enough energy…

"Don't mention it sweety. Go back to bed and I'll wake you for dinner." Sera said.

Sakura nodded, laying on the bed gently to make sure she didn't open up any more wounds. After she was settled down, she inhaled and exhaled deeply a few times before falling victim to the thing we call sleep.

Sera woke Sakura up an hour later, and helped her eat her food. After that, Sakura went back to bed, feeling herself to drained to do anything but sleep.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_Same Time Elsewhere_

Ino blew her nose, weeping for her best friend who's grave was right in front of her with dozens of different flowers.

"I-Ino" Hinata said, trying to comfort Ino ever so slightly. It wasn't working though… she was crying too. How would she not? That was one of her best friends… and she died…

"W-Why'd it h-have to be h-her?" Ino cried out even more.

Hinata did her best to not cry, but she soon gave in, being surrounded by mourning people, and started crying together with Ino. They hugged each other for comfort, but the pain was still there… it would always be there… they lost their best friend…

It had been an hour already… and people weren't leaving yet… in fact, more and more seemed to be filing it. Even the Suna siblings, Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara had come to wish Sakura the best life in the afterlife. Kankuro owed his life to her, Temari had become close friends with her, and Gaara had become rather fond if the pink-haired girl… everyone who she had met had… it wasn't much of a surprise.

They would all remember Konoha's Cherry Blossom… and they would all remember her for the great person she had been in her lifetime.

The ones who were probably taking her death the worst were Naruto, Sai, Kakashi, Tsunade, Shizune, and, Sasuke of course.

Naruto and Sasuke were together, not saying a word. Why? Because they had nothing to say.

Nothing could begin to describe how horrible they felt at the moment. They blamed themselves for her death… they should have been there… How did they ever separate from each other?

Sakura had always been there for Naruto… always there when he needed to talk… always there when he was about to die… she protected him countless of times as well. Where was she now? 8 feet below ground… Technically, her body wasn't there… Her body was never found and they could only imagine that the attackers took her body, or it was blown into tiny pieces from the huge explosion that had erupted thanks to the suicidal-jutsu one of the attackers had conjured. They had searched for 4 days… 4 long _god damn _days. But to no avail, her body was never found. They had even went as far to higher the Inuzuka's to sniff out her body. Her scent had been completely marked off.

Naruto not only lost a best friend… he lost a sister… He had barely gotten Sasuke back and now he had to lose Sakura? The only difference was that he could never get Sakura back… not now… Not ever.

He couldn't even begin to describe how Sasuke must be feeling right now. They had been together for the 2 years Sasuke had been back after all. What he found was the most horrible from all of this, was that after they came back from their mission, Sasuke was going to propose to Sakura… This wouldn't have been a day people all around Konoha would be wearing black.

No, it would have been a lively day filled with bright colors, and smiles everywhere. After all, their cherry blossom was to get married, to the most powerful man in all of Konoha. Even the fan girls would have been happy. After all, Sakura _used to be _one of the fan girls and that being said, she had befriended most of all of them.

Naruto looked down, seeing Sasuke tighten his grip on a black box. He put a strong arm on Sasuke's shoulder, making him stare at Naruto. His eyes looked dead; lifeless. Naruto shook his head.

He knew what Sasuke must have been thinking. A resurrection jutsu. Those were far too difficult to accomplish and even if Orochimaru had shown him how to do them… you needed a body. A key ingredient they didn't even have. They had spent 4 days searching for her body… not even a feint chakra signature was found… She had either disappeared, or she had been blown to tiny pieces, that she wouldn't even be distinguishable in a pile of dirt.

Sasuke shook his hand off if his shoulder, angered. He of all people should understand how bad he wanted it… how bad he wanted her back. How much he missed her… how much he ached for her touch… her smile… her voice… her scent…

He wanted all those things back that it _hurt. _It hurt _so bad. _He wanted to scream out in agony… he had lost the most important thing in his life…

Kakashi had once told him that a love lost is a memory gained. And like some memories, we forget about them, and bury them so deep into our mind, we no longer claim importance for them. Would Sakura become like that to him? Would he forget about 4 years of his life with her? _4 god damn long years? _No… he had always treasured Sakura… even in the Genin days.

She had always been there for him… She was the hand that was always there to hold whenever he felt he would go crazy, lost in the rage of the curse mark. In a way, the curse mark kept them apart… but it kept them closer as well. Every time he was blinded by rage… every time Orochimaru had made the curse mark go out of control… there was always one thing that would calm him down… Like in the Forest of Death, Sakura was the only one that could calm him… How could he forget about her like that?

It scared him… it scared him to think that. Would he seriously forget about all those times Sakura had been by his side? All those moments he was in complete and utter bliss with her?

"Sasuke" Naruto jerked, earning his attention. "We can't bring her back…" Naruto stated, even though he himself found it hurtful to say that.

"There's nothing wrong about wanting her back Naruto!" he growled loudly, glaring at Naruto, who flinched back in response to his sudden anger.

"Sasuke-kun"

Sasuke felt his spirits fly. A memory of the day they had been assigned to Team 7 flashed through his head. _'Just like… Sakura'_

Sasuke turned around in a daze, part of him hoping he would see Sakura behind him… No… it was… Saki?

"What?" he asked, looking right through her, and picturing Sakura instead of her…

"People move on." She stated, smiling as she took his hand and squeezed it.

Sasuke glared, and jerked his hand away. No… Sakura would never say anything like that. Never would she tell people to forget, and move on. She would tell people to treasure them in their hearts… because even they could give you the slightest happiness whenever you are feeling down.

Yeah… Sakura would say something like that. "Don't act as if you knew her. No one could forget someone like Sakura." He hissed, making Saki waver, scared.

Sasuke looked down sadly, staring at his dark blue box. He knelt down in front of Sakura's grave, and opened the box. In it, revealed a gold ring with a pink diamond incrusted in it. He placed it on top of Sakura's graved, as he traced the letters of her name on the gravestone. He looked up, a small tear rolling down his cheek.

From a few feet away, Ino and Hinata gasped… no way… he had been ready to propose to her all along. For reasons unknown, Ino broke down crying, Hinata following suit, sad, knowing that Sakura would have loved to have been here for this.

A drop of water hit his face, and then it was followed by a few more. A few thunderbolts were seen as lighting spread through the area, and the rain started pouring. The skies were crying too…

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sakura woke up, sweat beating down her neck as lighting cackled through the air. It was barely around 4 in the afternoon, but the dark clouds and rain made it seem dark… Sakura had never been all too fond of lightning…

Sakura looked outside the window next to her bed, seeing a few villagers running frantically towards their individual cottages, trying to flee from the rain.

Sakura felt dead. Why though? A feeling at the pit of her stomach told her she _was dead… _Theoretically speaking, she was supposed to be dead. It had taken her all her strength to stay alive, and even she knew, as a very experienced medic, there should have been no way she should have survived the attack. No… her injuries were far too great. The injury in her head should have broken her skull, but it settled with her skin only. The stab wound in her lung should have stabbed her heart, causing almost instant death, but it settled for an inch west of her heart. The stab wound on her abdomen, should have cut through vital organs, including her liver, but it barely even grazed it.

Either the devil was playing one cruel trick on her, making her feel pain before killing her, or God was keeping her alive. Why though? Was he trying to tell her to go back to Konoha? To be with Sasuke?

A loud lighting boomed across the sky and Sakura jumped slightly. Was God reading her thoughts now? So if she wasn't fated to go back to Konoha, was she to stay here?

Another boom

Was God telling her to become a missing-nin then? Because if she was a ninja, who left her village, that was immediately a case of a missing-nin.

No boom………

'_Are you playing pranks on me kami-sama?' _Sakura thought sourly.

No boom…

'_No… this just had to be a sick, cruel, mind trick… Everything will be fine when I get back… I know it will…' _Sakura thought, staring at the rain outside the house.

Even though she told herself that all throughout the night, not hearing anymore booming, she couldn't help but feel everything was all wrong…

She wasn't supposed to be _here, _even though she much appreciated them saving her life. She was supposed to be in front of a sofa, next to the fireplace in Sasuke's house snuggling with him while drinking some hot chocolate…

Or maybe even sharing a few laughs in between friends with Hinata, Ino, and TenTen, laughing about how Naruto had fallen into the icy cold river on their last mission, or how Chouji had gone off on the attacker for calling him fatty, or even how Neji seemed very feminine in his sleep… so told by Hinata and TenTen. Any one of those comments would have be fine.

But no… where was she now? She was in a cold bed filled with blood stains, where she was slowly wasting her life, trying to heal her injuries. She was dying there… No, she had died here… The old Sakura had died here… the one who trusted too easily.

She knew Saki didn't like her to begin with… trying to act like her, and take her friends and boy friend too. Saki… her name was even similar to hers… how pathetic.

Now… the first thing Sakura would do when she saw Saki was either kill her, beat the crap out of her, or strangle… whichever fit best.

Sakura could only wait for now…

**End of Chapter!**

**So… what'd you all think of the new story? :O I've been meaning to put it out there to see if it was any good… I guess you'll all be the judge of that ;) Sorry if you spot any errors people! Took me a while to make and I was too lazy to go back and reread everything 400 times X.X hehe**

**1 review is all I need to continue, though I would appreciate any and all feedback :) No review = no update :) Sorry… hope I'm not being greedy but I just like 2 know there's at least 1 person sharing their opinions :)**

**Until then!**

**-Marzy-chan :)**


	2. Struggle

**Hello there, I got so many wonderfully reviews that ideas hit me! Now, this chapter has a lot going on and it gets pretty complex, dramatic, and suspenseful later on in the chapter… you'll see why. I must admit, writing stuff like that is a new for me, so I would really appreciate it if you tell me what u thought of it, and what I could improve about it!**

**More about this chapter will be explained at the end, so you could all get started on this chapter. I must say, I had a good time writing some part around late middle, till the end… around where all the suspense started :D I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed typing it!**

**And how people…. **_**21 reviews!!! **_**I never thought people would like this story so much… I just gotta say… keep it up! :P lol… this motivation is really nice :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form.**

_Recap_

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'_No… this just had to be a sick, cruel, mind trick… Everything will be fine when I get back… I know it will…' _Sakura thought, staring at the rain outside the house.

_Even though she told herself that all throughout the night, not hearing anymore booming, she couldn't help but feel everything was all wrong… _

_She wasn't supposed to be here, even though she much appreciated them saving her life. She was supposed to be in front of a sofa, next to the fireplace in Sasuke's house snuggling with him while drinking some hot chocolate…_

_Or maybe even sharing a few laughs in between friends with Hinata, Ino, and TenTen, laughing about how Naruto had fallen into the icy cold river on their last mission, or how Chouji had gone off on the attacker for calling him fatty, or even how Neji seemed very feminine in his sleep… so told by Hinata and TenTen. Any one of those comments would have be fine._

_But no… where was she now? She was in a cold bed filled with blood stains, where she was slowly wasting her life, trying to heal her injuries. She was dying there… No, she had died here… The old Sakura had died here… the one who trusted too easily._

_She knew Saki didn't like her to begin with… trying to act like her, and take her friends and boy friend too. Saki… her name was even similar to hers… how pathetic._

_Now… the first thing Sakura would do when she saw Saki was either kill her, beat the crap out of her, or strangle… whichever fit best._

_Sakura could only wait for now…_

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Chapter 2: Struggle**

"That's right girls… ease her down nice and steady." Sera said as she, Suzumi, and Suki helped Sakura enter the water. After they were all settled down, they sighed in contentment.

"How lucky am I your village has a bath house?" Sakura voiced her thoughts, letting herself sink into the warm, relaxing water.

"You could say we in the village take our baths' seriously." Sera chuckled.

"Oh, so do I… and I'm so grateful you all do." Sakura moaned, the water feeling better than ever.

1 week and 3 days… she hadn't taken a shower in _**1 week **_and _three days__**.**_

This felt like heaven right now… Sure, Sera had cleaned her up when they had stitched up her wounds, but she still felt filthy…

_Her wounds…_

Sakura looked at her abdomen, seeing the skin completely stitched up, but being surrounded by purple and green. The whole area around her abdomen had bruised, giving her body a yucky purple look to it.

"It'll heal dear." Sera said, noticing Sakura couldn't stop staring at her injuries.

"I know… I'm just not used to sustaining an injury for this long… I would have healed it by now." Sakura said, sighing in pity as she frowned unhappily.

"You ninja and your weird jutsus'…" Sera shook her head disapprovingly. "Now why can't _we _have it that easy." She sighed dreamily as they all started giggling.

Sakura coughed a bit, still feeling pain every time she inhaled or exhaled deeply, or laughed for too long.

"Careful dear, that lung of yours is still in pretty bad condition." Sera warned. Sakura frowned, staring at the spot where the katana went through her lung. Such a pity…

"I know." Sakura said, feeling as if Sera had become her mother. Always behind her like any mother would be with their little babies when they were falling down on the sand in the sandbox or when they learned to walk, or when they said their first word…

Sakura missed that.

Not only had her parents died 3 years ago, but she had no one to go to for that. Yes, she always had Shizune and Tsunade for that but there were always some obstacles in the way.

First of all, Tsunade and Shizune were now very busy, having to increase the protection around Konoha, for fear of Akatsuki, and things like that.

Second of all, where were they now? When she needed a mother to look after her now more than ever, where were they? Tsunade was probably finding an excuse to let Shikamaru do all his paper work, while Shizune was making sure there were no bottles of sake anywhere in her office, or in the building for that matter. And here she was, healing at a slow rate after almost being killed by a teammate _they _had assigned to her team…

Where were they now?

They weren't beside her, watching her every movement and making sure Sakura had everything she needed. They weren't healing her like crazy, making sure she was stable 24/7. They weren't _punishing _Saki for all the torture she had made Sakura go through, what with all the injuries. No… Sera was doing all of that.

She was making sure Sakura's stitches never opened up, and that Sakura had food when she was hungry, and she made sure to take Sakura to the bathroom when needed to too. She was the one giving Sakura pain killers, and medicine to help her heal faster. She was the one cursing Saki's name a hundred times a day, hoping that one day, Saki would go through all that pain, so she knew how Sakura had felt.

Sakura had grown to love Sera as a mother, seeing as she treated Sakura as her child. Always stitching up the stitches whenever they reopened, or taking her to the bathroom whenever she needed to go. Or even feeding her when she found herself too weak to pick of the spoon, or knife, or fork, and always making sure Sakura wasn't doing anything dangerous, like leaving her bed, or moving around too much.

And what about giving Sakura a _bath? _Oh how she was thankful for that. Sakura was much too stiff to walk, so how would she have enough strength to bathe correctly? Sakura truly felt like a little kid again, Sera, being her mother. And oddly enough, Suzumi and Suki being her older sisters, getting her food when she couldn't reach, obviously in pain trying to stretch her hands.

No, she wasn't a little kid, she was a baby. Because right now, her body was completely useless, and it was as fragile as a feather or that of an elder's… the same as a baby's was.

Truth be told, she missed this… she missed being catered after for she felt she hadn't had some treatment in a long time. And now, she was contemplating on whether or not she should stay here longer, until she was fully healed, or she should leave before she _really _became a burden.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Another cup of sake!" a girl hollered, slamming the cup on the table, seeing the bartender give her another shot. The high pitched sound scared the bar tender, seeing she was completely drunk, and looked very dangerous when angry.

Surprisingly enough, no, this was **not** Tsunade. It was Shizune, yes, _**Shizune. **_The woman who always confiscated the sake, and told Tsunade to stay on task, was sipping sake after sake. That would be her tenth cup in five minutes.

"Water for me" Tsunade grumbled gloomily, sinking down on her chair as she rested her head on the table. Sake wasn't right for a time like this… no, it just wasn't right…

"Sake for me." a miserable blonde muttered, mimicking Tsunade, and resting his head on the bar table in hopelessness.

Tsunade looked to her side, facing Naruto. "Naruto… you know you're not old enough to drink yet." She scolded, her voice distant and dead.

"Your point being?" Naruto grumbled, looking up momentarily at the other blonde, as dead and lifeless as himself, before sinking his head back down to the bar table.

There was a small silence. "You know what… I'm not quite sure myself"

"Okay then… sake please."

The bartender complied and gave them their drinks, having them gulp it all down in one swig. He would usually make Naruto exit the bar, but Tsunade, the _Hokage _complied to it, and he really didn't want to get in trouble by the 5th Hokage. Curse his luck for having the 3 of them enter _his _bar.

"More" the 3 miserable people demanded at the same time, slamming the glasses on the table.

"You've been here for 5 hours… maybe you should a-"

"I'm the Hokage damn it! Now get us all our respective drinks!" Tsunade yelled, the anger in her tone leaving no room to argue.

"Yes! Right away!" the man squealed, running frantically in search of some more glasses, since, they had used them all up.

"You know… it's rather irresponsible to leave Shikamaru at your office doing all the work." Shizune said, moving her glass in a circular motion, staring at the single drop of sake left it in. "And yet, I don't find the need to yell at you right now…" she grumbled, an elbow prepped up on the table while her hand was under her chin.

"You're not the only one feeling strange." Tsunade grumbled.

"Tell me about it… Sasuke hasn't left his house for 3 days… I'm starting to think maybe he's rotting away in his own house." Naruto said, trying to sound serious, but his voice sounded so uninterested, it sounded rather sarcastic, and as if he were trying to insult him. It almost sounded like Shikamaru's or Sasuke's. It had been 1 week and 3 days and no one had been able to go back to normal yet. Naruto wasn't as happy as he used to be, and his bright blue eyes looked rather gray, all the life, happiness, and joy having been sucked out. It seemed even ramen couldn't cure his sadness. The only thing that could quench his thirst was Sakura, and she well… was a drink that had long ago been done with.

No, the 4 of them were not the only ones being affected by the death of Sakura.

Shikamaru had been so sad, he didn't even complain about being left behind to do all of Tsunade's paper work. Ino had been crying for a whole week straight, Hinata and TenTen not leaving her side at all. They had been sleeping over at Ino's for the past week.

Chouji hadn't eaten as much as he normally would have, and he had actually lost 5 pounds. Neji hadn't been seen in the training grounds in over 4 days, and Lee hadn't been seen passed out in the training grounds next to Neji, or in the hospital for a week. Kiba hadn't cracked jokes or made fun of Naruto for several days now, and even Akamaru wasn't willing to bite Naruto. Shino always kept to himself, so they didn't exactly know what he was feeling either… but he did seem quieter than usual…

"I would have never thought Sakura would have been the first to go." Tsunade stated, sipping her water. "I always thought it would have been me of all people. Maybe even Sasuke or Kakashi first in Team 7…" Tsunade stated miserably.

"I thought I would always be the first to go." Naruto stated, putting his finger at the edge of the glass and moving it around.

The silence stretched on, until it was broken when Shizune's glass tipped over, her sake spilling. "I-It was t-too s-s-soon!" Shizune burst out in tears, feeling the weight of the world on her. Sakura was like a very beloved little sister to her… how could she possibly lose her?

Naruto and Tsunade looked at her with dead eyes, but that was all they could do. They couldn't pat her on the shoulder for comfort. They couldn't hug her profoundly and tell her to stop crying. They couldn't soothe her and tell her everything was alright. That it would seem like nothing had happened in a few days…

Because in truth, nothing was alright. And no one, _no one, _would pretend like nothing happened… no one would forget about Sakura.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_What happens when you die?_

_Some say you become an angel if you were a good person, and then you live your days as an angel, watching over the people you love._

_If you were a bad person, you would either go to hell, forced to live a horrible life for all eternity, or you would be like a ghost to be damned and condemned to the earth. No one could see you, no one could hear you, no one could feel you. You are there, but you are nothing._

_Others say you are reborn, into the world as a different person, but with the same soul. You forget everything about your previous life, and search to find inner peace, or until you become the best person you could become._

_----_

"That was so relaxing!" Sakura sighed in bliss, feeling her muscles scream in joy. The steamy goodness of the water had made her muscles less tense, and had soothed her.

Sakura felt refreshed, and reborn. She was ready… ready to focus. She had learned her lesson. She would never trust that easily anymore… especially people who gave her a bad vibe to begin with.

She had to trust her instincts more… she had stop relying on everyone…

Suzumi, Suki, Sera, and Sakura wrapped towels around themselves, feeling completely refreshed and regenerated. 

After they helped Sakura get dressed, and they helped her get back to the cottage, where Sakura went right back to the bed again, which had now been cleaned. Sakura had to say, this was getting very tiring. She had gotten no exercise for the past few weeks at all. But then again, it wasn't like she _could _get any. The only thing she could possibly manage to do as exercise would be walk around the kitchen table 100 times, to strengthen her muscles on her legs, which had been torn along with the broken bone, which had pierced the muscle.

Sakura sighed miserably, feeling like she was drowning in a cup of water. She couldn't even_ lift a fork. _She was definitely like a baby in more ways than one. Sakura glared at the fork, trying to melt it for being so heavy.

"Let me help you with that Sakura-neechan." Suzumi offered, scooping some rice up and letting Sakura take a bite.

"Thank you" Sakura said appreciatively, even though it irritated her to no end needing this much help. She had taken quite a beating in order for her to be this weak.

After they had finished helping Sakura eat, Sakura did a few laps around the table with the help of Suzumi to help strengthen her muscles, before going back to bed.

This cycle had continued for the next two week, until Sakura no longer found the need to have an extra hand around to use the bathroom, or lift a spoon or fork.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Naruto! You idiot give me that back!" Saki shouted, lifting a menacing fist at Naruto.

"Sorry" Naruto cackled, examining the picture in his hand. "I can't believe you have a picture of _Sasuke _Saki-chan! This is something…" Naruto trailed off.

_This is something Sakura would do_

Naruto dropped the photo as realization hit him, and Saki ran speedily, catching the photo before it hit the ground.

"Naruto you idiot! Watch what you do!" Saki shouted in anger as she punched Naruto sending him flying a few feet back.

He stumbled on his feet, feeling the punch on his face. That was like Sakura too! Except, Sakura's were much more powerful and they would send him several meters away, successfully knocking over a few trees in the process.

A wave of nostalgia washed over him as he replaced Saki's figure with Sakura's… if he imagined just enough, Saki would be like Sakura… They _were _permanent teammates after all. Now that… she was removed from the team.

It still hurt to say her name… everyone seemed to think so… They all just called her 'she' or 'her' or anything referring to Sakura.

"Saki!"

They both turned around, seeing Ino waving towards them with Hinata behind them, showing a smile towards Naruto.

"It's time to go shopping!" Ino shouted enthusiastically.

"Coming! Gotta go Naruto!" Saki said as she ran to catch up with Ino.

'_Taking over Sakura's life was easier than I thought' _Saki thought as she smirked inwardly, a sly smile showing on the outside. _'All though I must admit, hanging out with Naruto is one of the worst things I've ever had to do.' _She frowned slightly in disgust as she remembered seeing Naruto eating his ramen like a pig.

She glanced at the timid Hinata standing behind Ino. _'I can't believe she loves him… how repulsive. There must be something wrong with her.' _Saki though as she gave Hinata a dirty look, looking at her up and down as if judging her.

Hinata saw this and hid behind Ino slightly, feeling very meek standing next to Saki.

She didn't understand…

Why did everyone feel she was Sakura? It seemed everyone had forgotten… forgotten about the brave and kind things she had done for everybody… It seemed only a number of people could see through her lies and see the true person she was.

She had been training with Ino once, using her Byakugan. Then, Saki came and started talking with Ino about make-up, hair, clothes, boys, and whatnot. Every time someone said a lie, their chakra points would flare slightly and they would show some sort of sign to the lie…

Saki was filled with lies

Dozens and dozens of lies… she was imitating Sakura, that was what Hinata had summed up.

Her favorite color was pink

Her clothes was exactly like Sakura's

She acted the same way towards Naruto as Sakura

She even started using the same shampoo as Sakura!

Hinata had a sensitive nose… she could tell.

They started walking towards the shopping district, Hinata lagging a few steps behind, staring at Saki's head.

'_Why is she trying to replace Sakura-chan?' _Hinata thought sorrowfully.

"Yeah, and guess what? Tsunade has accepted me as her apprentice! I start tomorrow!"

"That's great news Saki!" Ino exclaimed.

'_Now she's even her apprentice? What's next, being Ino's best friend?' _

"Oh my god! We have so much in common! You are like, my total B-F-F!"Ino shouted gleefully, hugging Saki.

Hinata stopped walking, and just stared at their figures, which were growing distant with every step they took.

She couldn't take this anymore… she could see what Saki was trying to do. She had told Ino about, but it seemed she refused to think that.

"_You're just paranoid Hinata-chan. You'll come around." _She had told Hinata.

'_I'm not paranoid… you're all just being blind…' _Hinata thought, turning around and walking away. She couldn't stand being there anymore. She didn't need her Byakugan to tell Saki didn't like her… she didn't need to be manipulated by Saki. So the best way to stop that was by staying away from her.

After all, Hinata was rather shy and wouldn't stand up for herself, she knew that.

While walking around aimlessly, she bumped into Sai, who had been exiting an art store, buying some ink and paint.

"M-Morning Sai." Hinata said, smiling slightly.

Sai merely nodded at her in acknowledgement. "Shouldn't you be with Ino?" he asked, noticing Ino was nowhere in sight. They were usually always together; inseparable they had been ever since Sakura had passed away.

"We were going to go shopping… but Saki tagged along…" she said sadly, losing her stutter.

"So I'm not the only one who see's through ugly?" Sai said, walking. Hinata's ears perked up, and she followed him, trying to hear what he was trying to say.

"Y-You don't like h-her either?" Hinata asked.

"That hideous thing is a fake." Sai stated. Hinata nodded in response, understanding exactly where he was coming from.

"I-I hear she's b-becoming Tsunade-sama's a-apprentice tomorrow." Hinata said.

"Another step to becoming Sakura I presume." Sai stated, and Hinata nodded in response.

"Not m-many seem t-to n-notice it… w-why you?"

Sai walked around the crowded streets, dodging all the people while Hinata tried to keep up. "I have been trained to be a specialist when it comes to lies, betrayal, and deception. I could spot it a mile away." Sai said. "And you?"

"Byakugan… I c-can detect h-her lies. My B-Byakugan is much f-finer than m-most… it can detect the t-tiny flares of chakra a-and slight m-movements p-people create w-when they l-lie."

Sai nodded. "Only people with exceptional practice could say a lie without being caught under the Byakugan. I could say Tsunade is the nicest person on earth and you wouldn't catch that lie." Sai said, showing her a fake smile. Hinata giggled in response, actually believing him.

They talked to each for a while longer until they went their separate ways, Hinata supposed to be training with Kiba and Sai saying he was going to draw something…

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"I really mustn't stay any longer." Sakura said, bowing at Sera.

"Oh dear, you're not fully healed yet." Sera said in pity.

"Stay with us a little longer Sakura-neechan." Suki said, a few tears in the corner of her eyes. She would miss her nee-chan.

"I've been here for 3 weeks Sera. I couldn't possibly impose any longer." Sakura said, a few tears at the corner of her own eyes.

"You have become part of our family Sakura! You haven't been imposing at all." Sera insisted.

Sakura shook her head. "As much as I would like it so, my home is not here. I belong with my friends back in Konoha. I'm sure they've all been worries sick." Sakura said, a wave of homesickness washing over her.

"But Sakura-neechan." Suzumi said stubbornly, a pout making its way to her puffy, red-eyed face.

Sera shook her head. "I really wish you would stay here longer with us. But if you say it must be done, it must be done. I wish you the best of luck reaching Konoha, Sakura." Sera said, wiping her eyes with her apron.

Sakura wiped her tears as well, feeling it hard to leave. "I'll miss you all." Sakura said as she ran to them and gave them each a hug. "Please take care." Sakura whispered as she embraced Suzumi and Suki in a bear hug.

They nodded as Sakura stood up, wiping her tears once more. She waved, before she stared walking away from the village, and towards her home; Konoha.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

'_Ahhhggg… this is hopeless.' _Sakura thought, as her steps slowed down and she stopped walking. She would get to Konoha in 2 days at this rate. It would be much sooner if her leg wasn't still in bad condition, and even sooner if she had her chakra.

Sakura frowned, trying to summon her chakra. Nope, still wouldn't work. How long had she put the stupid jutsu?

Sakura sighed, leaning on a tree and trying to balance her breathing… without making her lung feel like it was on fire. That was a difficult but Sakura managed anyway. She then started to calculate the time.

'_Okay, I've walked about 5 miles in 1 hour, and Konoha is 100 miles away. Meaning… about 25 hours to get to Konoha. Sleeping and eating will add at most 8 hours, so that would be 33 hours… so I should arrive mid day or so tomorrow.' _

Sakura wasn't called a genius for no reason though most of that was pretty simple stuff. Even so, Naruto would most likely not be able to figure that out.

_Naruto…_

A sudden yearning to see her favorite blonde washed over her and she could only imagine his face expression when he sees her looking like… well, a bloody pulp. She looked way better than she did before though… She probably looked _dead _a few weeks ago. She had been too afraid to look in a mirror…

Sakura started walking once again, Naruto giving her strength, courage, and confidence. She would make it… she _had _to make it. She wasn't the weak little girl she used to be… she was able to take care of herself now…

'**Coming from a girl who had been treated like a baby for the past month.' **Her inner doubtful mind said snickering, but Sakura zoned her out, not wanting the doubtful thoughts to bring her mood down .What was then is the past, and all that mattered was the present.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A man dropped to the floor, either unconscious, or dead.

"This took you way too long… I think your skills are diminishing. You were able to kill everyone in 6 minutes last time."

"Shut up or you'll be next." The man threatened, picking up the now confirmed, dead body. "Let's go." He hissed, turning around and walking away.

"So rude… but I guess now we'll be able to go home…" the other man said, walking away from all the rubble and debris behind them. He stepped over a random body, and then stepped on the next one, not caring about all the blood that was getting on his shoes. They had managed to destroy a drug dealer's office and all of his body guards all under 8 minutes, leaving everything and everyone completely destroyed and dead.

The man simply rolled his eyes, not understanding why he couldn't just kill his partner and never have to see or _hear _him ever again. But then again, it wasn't like he could get rid of him that _easily. _The little brat just _wouldn't die! _No matter how many times and how hard he tried, he would always… survive. He had given up on truly killing him after a while, but that didn't mean his attempts at assassinating his partner had completely stopped. As long as the anger, annoyance, and hindrance was still there, so would the attacks, injuries, and blood.

"We just gotta deliver the damn body right?" the man asked walking lazily next to his partner.

"Yes"

"How long?"

"I don't know." He replied, his anger rising.

"An estimation?"

"I, don't, _know._" He snapped, not comprehending why he had to ask so many _questions. _It was infuriating and could make a sane person go mad. Hadn't anyone ever taught him how to _shut up? _Apparently not, considering that was one of the many things he was incapable of doing.

The man sighed in annoyance, not knowing why his questions were never answered. All he wanted was to go back home and be in his room, his sanctuary, where he could relax, and do whatever the hell he wanted. His partner was so lame though. He knew his partner had a deep dislike towards him, but it wasn't really his fault now was it? Well, maybe it was just a little, but it wasn't his fault his personality was just one to go badly with his. He just wanted to go home…

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A thunderbolt struck a tree, and a few miles away. Sakura shivered in the vast expanse of the forest. It had grown chilly, and Sakura was quite sure it would rain soon, as it had been doing for several days, for the past 3 weeks. Sakura was rather surprised the first snow of the season hadn't fallen yet, seeing the change in weather change so drastically. Ever since she had been injured the weather had seemed to have gotten colder and heavier. It was either late in autumn, or early in winter; Sakura hadn't paid mind into noticing that sort of stuff when she was busy trying to keep herself from dying.

The date… it wasn't something one would keep track of closely while on the near verge of death, struggling to pick up a spoon, let alone yourself. It wasn't really Sakura's fault… or was it? Maybe if she had paid closer attention she would have avoided the attacks from Saki and she would have managed to keep her chakra within her reach, or maybe she wouldn't have a pierced abdomen or lung, or broken foot for that matter.

The immense pain was rather hard to deal with, but the faces of her loved ones kept flashing in her mind. That was the only thing keeping her going; sheer will power and the want and need to see her friends and family once again. To embrace them all in a bear hug, being so thankful being able to see their faces once again. Being that close to death had made Sakura realize just how precious life was. Sleeping all day and night long for the past weeks felt rather weird. All her dreams had been invaded by the one person she truly despised. And when she was not dreaming of Saki, her mind was blank, and completely white. As if she had never existed before, and there was nothing there.

Dead…

That was the word she was looking for. She had felt dead in her dreams. Seeing all white in the vast expanse of her mind… seeing completely white and nothing else… It had been terrorizing. She thought maybe she had died, and this was where she had been put. In a white room where she could not hear, see, smell, touch, taste, or feel anything whatsoever. She couldn't even see herself dressed in all white, having to be haunted, trying to search for a way out of that labyrinth she had been put in…

She had been desperate to see any sign of life… any different color… anything besides all white. Even the sight of blood would have been reassuring to let her know she was still alive… In her dreams she felt nothing… not even the pain she was experiencing outside, in the real world.

Sera had told her she had been in a comma on and off for several days… was that even possible?

Apparently, yes. Considering it had happened to her several times for the past 3 weeks. It had almost been a month since she had been home. What had become of Konoha since she had left? Did they still remember her? Did they still think about her every day? Would they walk around Konoha and have flashes in their heads of places she had been in? This only proved to further her determination on getting back home to Konoha.

Another thunderbolt pierced through the air, the loud boom breaking her out of her never ending thoughts. It would start raining soon, yet again. The rain would definitely slow Sakura down… but no, Sakura refused to give up. A few more minutes past before yet another thunderbolt boomed through the sky.

Small droplets of water poured down on her face and Sakura glared at nothing, angered at the rain. She was in the middle of a forest with many treacherous paths… this couldn't be good at all. Sakura considered stopping for the day, knowing she wouldn't be able to get far with the rain on her face. Knowing the climate here though, made her realize maybe it wouldn't stop raining… Winter was coming, and Sound was rather chilly all year long, excluding summer of course.

Sakura grimaced, feeling her whole body getting wet from the pouring rain. She wished she had an umbrella, or something to shield her from the rain. How would she get to Konoha? By the time she got there she would probably have a high fever if this kept up.

Sakura limped forward for a few more minutes, until she notice the path went downwards in a small hill… what the hell was she to do now? Her foot was busted, and she couldn't stretch too much in fear of opening her stitches. Her muscles were sore, and she didn't have much endurance, seeing she had been walking for over 10 hours now. It was late, maybe around 9 or 10.

Sakura sighed, saying a mental prayer in her mind before she slowly used her good foot and took one small step towards the hill. She went good for a few more steps but then she started having some issues. The water had made the mud runny and now Sakura was slipping. She tried her best to balance herself out, but it didn't work very well. She raised her hands up suddenly, trying to see if she could possibly grab onto something. A pang of pain went through her, feeling her abdomen and lung scream in pain and agony. All her hands caught was chilly air, and she fell forwards, her face meeting the mud as she tumbled downwards. Her whole body was basically screaming at her to give up as she slowed to a steady spot, her face looking directly up at the canopy above her. The sky was dark, almost pitch black and Sakura did nothing, letting the small droplets of water fall down on her face and crawl through her body.

To make matters worse, she felt her stitches open up slightly, feeling some blood from her abdomen ooze out to the muddy floor, mixing with the mud. Sakura put her hands on her abdomen and put pressure on it, trying to stop the blood loss quickly before it got out of hand.

'_This is completely hopeless' _Sakura thought bitterly, feeling this was much worse than being at a cozy home, lifting spoons as weights or doing 10 laps around a table, which was 3 feet in diameter.She would have a nice hot spring right now instead of…

Muddy hair in her tangled locks and filthy clothes, which had been washed right before she had left.

Sakura closed her eyes and listened to the many sounds the rain forest had, hearing birds, monkeys, insects, scurrying squirrels… footsteps…

'_Shit… Footsteps?' _

Sakura's eyes snapped open, as she listened intently to that sound. No, she wasn't looking for anybody who could possibly help her to help her get back on her feet. Hello, this was _Sound._

The place that had moved to number 1 in the most dangerous place to live in. These could easily be ninjas, missing-nin, or bandits. She doubted they were a couple of old married couples. This was a _treacherous forest _not meant for anybody who didn't have to good, functional feet, a sense of direction, and weapons for protection.

'_Great… I have 1 out of 3 of the main things I need to survive in this forest.' _

Sakura took a deep breath, lifting her arms and lifting her top half up. She used her hands to drag her under a tree which was open at the bottom, giving her some shelter from any eyes, and the rain. She listened intently, hearing the footsteps coming closer and closer. Sakura ducked, trying to see anyone or anything. She squinted, finding it hard to see anything in the pitch black forest. She knew she should have stopped earlier but damn, maybe thinking about Naruto, Sasuke, Ino, Shizune, Sai, and Tsunade hadn't been the brightest idea in the book. Yes, it was good inspiration, but maybe it made her think her chances of survival were much higher than they _truly _were.

Soon enough, a man dressed in all black jumped down, 2 men following afterwards.

'_Double Shit…'_

Sakura inwardly sighed, seeing she had saved herself from yet another danger. Sakura could clearly see knives on these people. They seemed to be rather skilled though…. Maybe she wasn't as safe as she had thought…

Lighting struck, giving Sakura a clear image of their figures before everything turned dark once again and Sakura could only pray.

The man looked around suspiciously, and both of his companions looked at him questioningly.

He bent down, kneeling, and then dipped his hands on the mud, raising his hand and inspecting it seconds after.

"What is it?" one of the followers asked, jumping down as well, not being several feet behind the leader.

"Blood" his low, dark voice spoke, amusement and excitement etching his voice.

'_Triple Shit'_

The rain started pounding a bit harder that before, and the winds picked up, making it even harder for Sakura to see.

_Boom_

More lightning.

Sakura was terrified… she had been discovered… no…

A flash of the Forest of Death went through her head as the same feeling of hopelessness and weakness washed over her. Was she in need of her teammates to save her ass yet again? Was she still too weak to not even be able to save herself? No… she had grown… this would not be the same… she wouldn't allow it…

The man looked down, seeing the trail Sakura had left when she had dragged herself to the tree. The man stared at the complete darkness, indirectly staring straight into Sakura's terrified jade eyes. This could not be good. It only got worse when the man pulled out his sword…

'_Quadruple shit'_

The man walked slowly towards the tree, an evil smirk planted on his face, as another lightning beam flickered throughout the sky. After it finished, everything was steady, quiet, and peaceful. Sakura had to act fast… but what…

Everything was pitch black… the man staring at the tree with an intense gaze. A few more lightning bolts could be seen flickering across the sky…

He quickly looked under the tree, ready to pierce something…

_Empty…_

_No one…_

He looked questioningly at the tree, not understanding how someone could have possibly disappeared… he was more than 100 percent sure there was someone there… all the clues led to that… the blood was fresh… the trail had not been washed away by the rain… it had been done _recently. Too recently_

The wind picked up once again, blowing the rain harder so no sound could be heard besides the wild cries from the animals surrounding the forest.

"That was w-" he thought he heard his companion say, but everything else was muffled out, by what he believed was all the sound. He stood up and looked back, finding his follower standing there expectantly.

"No one." He said, looking around. His gaze caught something… rather odd. "Satoshi… where is Satoshi?"

The other follower looked around, shrugging moments later. "He was here a few seconds ago." He said, feeling nervous, and taking his sword out just in case.

Nothing but the animal sounds and the howling wind was heard as they all looked around at the pitch black area, trying to make out any shadowed figure or being able to make out any movement… They stilled, completely tense.

From behind a tree several feet away, Sakura gritted her teeth in pain as she cupped her hand tightly on the man's mouth, and cracked his neck with ease, letting him fall limply to the floor. Moving with that much speed, being in her condition and with no chakra, was very difficult.

'_One down…' _Sakura thought, gripping her abdomen as more blood seeped through, '_Two to go.' _She thought, gritting her teeth some more before she disappeared and became one with the wind… silent, but deadly.

"Keep your eyes open Yashiro…" the leader warned. In response, the man nodded, gripping his katana tightly. He took a deep, raspy breath, and lighting flashed. As he was about to exhale, all his air was blown out of him by a powerful punch to his stomach, sending him flying to a tree, hitting his head. The blow had been hard enough to cause a concussion, which knocked him out. Only for a few minutes though… she would have to hurry and dispose of the last man if she wanted to get out of this alive.

"Yashiro!" the man shouted, growling in anger.

As Sakura was about to make her attack on the last man, the pain on her abdomen grew badly and the pain made her lose her balance, slipping on the mud as she made an 'oomf' sound as she landed on the mud.

The man stared in shock as he saw Sakura's disheveled figure. Someone like _that _was able to take out his 3-man squad? After the general shock was through, he smirked in triumph as he made his way towards Sakura slowly, but steadily.

"I got you now you little pest" the man growled, smirking in victory.

Sakura stared in fear, hoping that her death would come quickly and painless. The man lifted up his sword, getting ready to swing it down with much force.

Sakura flinched, not wanting to see the moment she died.

She heard a growl and a bark, and then a man screaming in agony. Sakura's eyes abruptly opened, wanting to find out what was happening. In front of her, a gray and white wolf was, biting the man's neck harshly, making blood ooze out. She heard a crack, confirming the fact that the wolf had broken his neck… he had died.

Sakura stared in fear… if she didn't die one way, she would die the other way. The rain lightened slightly and the wind grew steadier, though still somewhat wild. Sakura and the wolf stared at each other for several minutes, neither making a single sound or movement. Sakura shivered, not only from the sheer coldness of the extreme weather, but the fear of getting demolished by the dangerous wolf as well.

A wolf…being a direct descendant of the dog, which was considered a sacred animal.

'_Kami… your messages are really starting to scare me.' _Sakura thought fearfully as the wolf approached her steadily. It sat in front of her, piercing her with its icy blue eyes. The staring contest went on for several more minutes until the dog silently turned around and walked away, leaving Sakura surrounded by 3 bodies, and several amounts of blood.

'_What just happened?' _Sakura thought, feeling herself go traumatized from the scene that just unfolded. This was just wrong… was she becoming a pawn in the sick, twisted game of life? Surely… Kami hadn't just saved her ass…. Had he? Was there really any other explanation? It was the only one Sakura had so far, so she decided to stick with it, no matter how incredulous and impossible it seemed. Sakura shakily stood up, limping, and started climbing the opposite side of the hill. The mud had moved so much, where she was now had become a trench, and she needed to climb upwards yet again to move forward.

As Sakura climbed up the hill, she stared back, terrified. As she examined everything through the dark, she saw more wolves approach the scene, feasting on the dead carcasses of the bandits. Tears streaked down Sakura's face, as she limped faster, trying to get away, in fear of becoming one of the men on the floor. Her body couldn't catch up with her, and with one wrong move, she fell to the floor. Landing on her knees.

More tears spilled, as she started limping away from the horrifying scene, hearing bones crushing. Moments later, a piercing scream… that was the man. Sakura's eyes widened in fear, realizing these big dogs weren't playing… they were there to kill… The back of Sakura's mind thought in pity, that maybe it would have been better if she killed the other man too… he would feel much less pain.

Sakura didn't ponder on it too long, thinking her life was much more important than someone's whose death wish had been signed the moment the wolf appeared.

Sakura laughed, sounding somewhat crazy, as she crawled further and further away from the bloody scene. That could have been her… but… why wasn't it?

Sakura's teeth chattered, feeling herself completely _freezing. _She had only her regular clothes, which was all wet, and she was freezing. She squinted, trying to examine her nails. They were taking a bluish, purplish color… she was getting hypothermia.

Just great… how would she survive this?  
'_Why am I even alive?' _Sakura thought, a crazy and maniacal smile in her face, showing how crazy she thought she was at the moment. This couldn't possibly be happening…

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The rain had stopped 20 minutes ago and Sakura could not clearly make out the end of the forest… It had been a horrible night… she hadn't slept at all. The image of the bloody scene still played in her mind… what the hell was going on?

Wolves usually traveled in packs, not alone… not only that, but most never interacted with humans at all… and what exactly was a lone wolf doing in the middle of a forest, during a heavy rain storm? But then again… more of them came after he attacked the bandit… maybe he was making sure the coast was clear, and he found some food in the process…

But that wouldn't explain why the wolf never attacked her… Maybe he didn't think of her as a threat? No… wolves were over-protective and would even kill someone from their pack if it meant they would keep everyone else safe…

And why exactly were they in the middle of a forest in Sound? Wolves usually stayed up in the mountains… hence, the pure white coat in the other wolf… so… what happened? The only thing Sakura knew was that she had to get the hell away from there…

Sakura had walked that whole night, the bloody scene running through her mind over, and over, and over. Sakura would make it to Konoha in a few hours… that was just how traumatized she was. The scene had spooked her, frightened her to no end. It had caused her speed to increase, in hopes of leaving the forest immediately, not wanting such a horrid thing to unfold yet again.

It was probably 4 or 5 in the morning now… it had been 7 hours since the attack but Sakura didn't feel tired or restless at all. Not mentally anyway. Her feet were screaming at her, begging for her to stop so they could rest for a few minutes. Sakura refused her feet though; she kept walking, and now that the end of the forest was a mere 10 yards away, she felt relieved.

As the forest trees diminished, Sakura found a small river and she walked up to it, falling on her knees several feet away from it, and crawling to it. She submerged her hands on the water, and took several handfuls of water, and gulped it down. Her throat stung, and it felt super dry… After she quenched her thirst, she washed her hair, its color not being pink, but instead, a dried up brown, no thanks to the mud she had rolled in.

She stayed there for 2 hours… After the sun rose and she no longer felt herself near the brink of hypothermia, she stripped of her clothing and jumped in the river, feeling her body sigh in relief at the fresh contact of water. It felt like she hadn't taken a bath in ages, when she had in fact taken one less than a day ago. After she bathed herself, she washed her clothes, not caring she was completely naked.

She was in the middle of nowhere, no one would see her like this. Why would anyone be here in…

Wait, where exactly was she? Sakura looked up, studying her surroundings. She had to be close by from Konoha… She used her analytic skills and calculated where she had to go next.

'_6 hours southwest should do it' _Sakura thought, putting her clothes on a random rock, air drying them. It took 30 minutes before they were decent enough to put on, and Sakura gratefully put on the warm piece of clothing, and started walking once again, this time much more refreshed.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was 10 in the morning and Sakura couldn't feel anymore exhausted. Not only was she struggling to keep the pain out, but she was struggling to survive, and struggling to _stay awake._

She hadn't slept all night long, and her injuries had seemed to become more painful as the hours went by. But then again, the pain had become so unbearable her body had gone numb around a mile back. If a snake bit her she probably wouldn't feel it, or the poison. She'd just feel herself taking a deep slumber that would last… well, forever.

The clear meadows and plains were disappearing, and they were being replaced by more woods. Sakura knew she _must _be close. Only about 1 more hour -5 or 6 miles- and that should do it. As she entered the forest, a sense of excitement ran through Sakura's body, giving her bruised up face a confident expression.

_She had made it_

She had made it through the dangerous woods, survived an attack by bandits, survived an encounter with a _wolf_, survived getting hypothermia and freezing to death, survived from bleeding to death, and most importantly, survived her inner turmoil.

She had survived and cheated death. Not once, but twice. Either she was immortal, or she was just not meant to die.

Sakura stared up at the light blue sky, thanking the Gods for giving her the precious, _precious_ gift of life. Even now, Sakura couldn't believe she had survived all of that. She couldn't believe she had survived this past _month. _What was it that was leading her on? Was it the Gods, saving her from every near-death experience she was encountering? Was it the images of Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, Ino, and Tsunade that kept finding a way to wiggle into her mind? Was it her will power and the stubbornness of not giving up?

Or maybe… was it the fear of being the same she had been back in the Genin days?

A shiver managed to go through Sakura's spine. Yes, besides thinking she had to get out of this alive, and besides all the faces that had been kept in her mind, she had been worrying about that…

If she couldn't do this… if she had failed to go back to Konoha…

If she hadn't survived Saki's attack at all

If she hadn't survived the encounter of with bandits

If she hadn't survived the staring contest with the wolf

If she hadn't survived all the blood loss

If she hadn't survived hypothermia

What would have happened then? She would have felt weak… as weak and hopeless as she had felt all those years ago, watching Naruto and Sasuke fall to the ground, leaving her, and only _her _to protect her fallen teammates. Sakura remembered the courage that had driven her… there wasn't much confidence driving her back then… just the need to protect the love of her life and her best friend. That was what Sakura had been missing all these years though… confidence… and she sure as hell had it now. It had been part of what had made her succeed in one of the hardest missions of her life.

'_No… but in an hour or two I'll finish this.' _Sakura thought warily as she leaned on a forest tree for a few seconds, before pushing herself off and carrying on.

Sakura had walked for 30 more minutes, until her eyes could no longer stay open. She steadied herself down against a tree, and let her body relax for a few minutes. She was in Konoha area now; there was no need to be afraid of bandits. Sakura listened to the small sounds of birds chirping, which had lulled her to sleep without her even knowing it. Sleep had been inviting, especially with the soothing sounds and the chilly, yet gentle breeze that surrounded her, making her feel comfortable.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sakura's eyes opened slightly, trying to recognize where she was. When she noticed she was in a forest, her eyes snapped open in dread. Damn it, she had fallen asleep! It looked to be late afternoon with the sun setting, it had to be around 5, 6, or 7 at most. Sakura growled in anger, seeing as she didn't meet her expected time. Or maybe she had. She had only slept for what was it… 6, 7 hours? And she had made an extra mile while in the forest, her quick pace proving to have been useful.

Sakura stood up slowly, not wanting to let more blood seep out of her already _open wound. _She walked, having 30 minutes in her mind.

30 minutes…

30 minutes until she could heal these injuries

30 minutes until she could see her family and friends again

30 minutes until she could lay on a nice fluffy bed and sleep till her heart's content

30 minutes until she was _home_

The 30 minutes grew short as bit by bit, she was able to see the Hokage tower in the distance, and see the large main gets. It only furthered to increase her excitement when she had stepped into the main road, Konoha being at least 10 minutes away at most, at any normal pace anyway. For her, it was probably 15 or 20.

Approaching the gate, she could clearly make out to figures standing closely together. The guards weren't on duty, maybe taking a 5 minute break or something. As she got closer, she could clearly see Sasuke's hair sticking out in his usually hair style, and relief overtook her. Her Sasuke… he was there… but with _who?_

At first she guessed Naruto, but no, this was a woman's figure… as she got only several meters away, a small gasp escaped her lips as tears poured down her face. Sasuke and… and… Saki were _kissing?_

'_No… this can't be true…' _Sakura thought, the stream of tears making its way down to the ground. She gripped her abdomen, the blood seeping out some more. She didn't pay heed to that pain though, she paid heed to the pain that was welling up in her heart. Tears dropped the ground, and so did blood as she stared at the scene before her…

Why? Why would Sasuke do this to her? This was worse than killing her! It was worse than what Saki had done to her. This was just unbearable.

After they had stopped kissing, Sasuke walked away, leaving Saki there, to stand and day dream. Apparently, she was supposed to be the guard on duty… She turned around and froze when she saw Sakura there.

'_How the hell is she still alive?' _Saki asked herself, fuming in anger. But wait… this could all work out to her benefit if she played her cards right… she wouldn't even have to kill her!

"My, my… you're still alive." Saki said, walking up to Sakura with an aura of a lioness walking towards its pray.

Sakura didn't reply, her heart hurt too much to make out any words right now.

"I see you have spotted what I was doing there. I suppose that means you and Sasuke are over." She said, stopping a few feet in front of her.

The sadness and shock turned to anger as she lifted her hand up and smacked Saki, using as much force as she could use. "You bitch!" Sakura shouted in anger as tears poured out some more. The loud slap echoed throughout the area and Saki gasped as pain filled her cheek, a red mark now adoring her perfect little ugly face.

It took not only all of Sakura's self control, but the pain as well to not lash out on her and kill her right then and there.

Saki's shocked face turned into one of anger but no, she didn't hit Sakura back. She wasn't that dumb. She knew even in her current condition Sakura could beat the _shit _out of her.

"Why… why did you do this?!" Sakura yelled out in anger.

"Because you didn't appreciate all you had! You had the perfect life! A perfect boy friend, a perfect best friend, a perfect reputation! Everything about you was _perfect!" _Saki shouted.

"That doesn't give you the write to take everything I worked hard to build! You set me up… yo-"

"And are you really all that surprised Sakura? Since day one I hated you. Despised you for having everything I wanted." Saki seethed.

"I was a fool to have actually believed you wouldn't try anything." Sakura said, looking down at the floor, noticing how her tears mixed with her blood.

"You were, and now I have everything you did Sakura." She smirked triumphantly.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, glaring at Saki.

"I'm apprentice to Tsunade-sama. I'm best friends with Ino. I'm the new _permanent _team member of Team 7. I'm going out with Sasuke. May I continue my long rant of achievements while you were out?" Saki said, sounding like a stuck-up arrogant bitch.

"You're not wanted anymore Sakura. No one ever speaks your name. Everyone is as happy as they used to be. No one even dared to remove your stuff from your apartment because they didn't care. No one wants _anything _to do with you Sakura. Do you see where I'm getting at? You're not as treasured as you formerly believed you were." Saki stated, smiling in victory as she saw even more tears slide down Sakura's cheeks.

"You're lying…" Sakura said, denying everything Saki was saying because it _hurt so much _to hear those words and believe them. All she could think about before was coming back home and being with her friends and family, and here she was, saying they didn't care for her? At all?

"It's fine by me if you don't believe me Sakura. You could go check yourself but my advice to you would be this: Leave. You won't find your previous happiness here anymore." Saki said.

"You're lying!" Sakura shouted, shaking her head as she put her hands on her ears, not wanting to hear what Saki was saying.

"Face the truth Sakura! Even Sasuke moved on. If he moved on, don't you think everyone else did too?" Saki asked.

This made Sakura think for a while. Sasuke was the most cold-hearted person in Konoha, and only a few people could warm their way inside of his heart. If Sasuke was able to warm up to Saki, and even _go out with her_, than what of the others? Maybe… they did too…

"Look for yourself. Ino gave me this a few days ago as a sign of our friendship." Saki said, showing her barrette with bright blue flower shaped jewels. It was truly beautiful and one could tell it was made with great difficulty.

"No…" Sakura muttered to herself, remembering the time Ino had given her one almost identical to that one, but it was pink and black instead of blue.

"You're just a thing of the past now Sakura. And apparently, it's a past no one wants a memory of. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go eat ramen with that _annoying _Kyuubi-brat.

"Shut up!" Sakura flared out. "Don't you _dare _talk about Naruto like that ever again!" Sakura yelled out, tightening her fists. She was almost ready to shred her to pieces!

"I will if I want to. I can't believe he actually thinks I like him. People nowadays just aren't able to tell the difference. You can come here at night to gather your stuff if you wish to. But besides that, I suggest you never set foot on this village again." Saki said, turning around and walking away rather hastily. In truth, she knew Sakura couldn't walk too well so if she got far enough, Sakura wouldn't be able to attack her. Good thing she was a good actress.

Sakura stood there, anger, sadness, betrayal, and confusion on her face. Sakura stood there until she went back to the forest and sat against a tree trunk, feeling dead now more than ever.

She would have to follow her advice… if they didn't want or need her, then she had no business here…

**End of Chapter!**

**Was that part in the forest good? I must know since I've only written stuff like that once before, and I'm not quite sure how good I am at it. Please tell me what you think.**

**In the Shinto religion, dogs are considered sacred animals, and wolves are said to be like dogs so yeah…. It's not likely you'll find a dog in the forest :-/**

**Also, here where I live, the drinking age is 21, and they're 20 so yeah… I hope that makes sense. :)**

**Review please! Those people who reviewed last chapter, this early update is for all of you! The more reviews, the sooner the updates!**

**-Marzy-chan :)**


	3. Ghost

**Next Chapter… aren't you all excited? :D lol… I happen to think Sakura is kind of oc in this chapter… she was getting to friendly with the Akatsuki members way too fast lol… Well, more specifically, just Kisame lol. But we all love Kisame… don't we? :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters in any way, shape, or form. :)**

_2 figures with black cloaks and red clouds walked slowly down a small path. One was dragging a body, the other, walking with his arms behind his head, not a care in the world._

"_Are we almost there yet?" the impatient one of the group said._

"_If you ask me that one more time, you'll be the body I'll be dragging… you got that?" the other one hissed, stopping shortly before continuing his walk towards the Fire Country._

Sakura's eyes snapped wide open, looking around frantically. Good, just a dream. A crow had woken her up from the nightmare she was having. It was of her being attacked by her _former _friends and family.

Sakura sighed, seeing it was pitch-black at last. Now she could get her stuff and leave just as Saki had advised her to do…

Sakura slipped into the village gates undetected and walked to her apartment, seeing all the streets deserted with no one but herself. It felt odd… she was never used to being in Konoha and being so alone… not to mention this would be the last time she would _be _in Konoha. Her friends didn't want her here… they didn't miss her… nothing at all. She was a ghost of the past and nothing could stop that.

Sakura opened her apartment door and went in, heading straight for her bedroom where she grabbed some clothes and put them in a small bag. After that she grabbed a toothbrush and toothpaste, and some other personal belongings. She stared at her jewelry box, fixated on only one thing. She grabbed it. She then quickly changed out fits, seeing as she was still in her ANBU uniform. She left the uniform folded on the corner of her bed, and then grabbed 4 pictures on her nightstand and shoved them in her pocket.

She grabbed her stuff, and then exited her apartment for the last time… She wouldn't need to come back to this place ever again.

Before heading to the main gates, she took a little detour and stopped at Ino's house. She could see the lights on in a room, and could clearly make out a shadow, obviously Ino with the ridiculously long hair. The other… looked familiar.

There were a few giggles. "I love you Saki!" Ino shouted in glee. Oh, so she hadn't been lying…

"No… Ino." Sakura said out loud, saddened that Ino had betrayed her.

All of a sudden, the laughing stopped. "What's wrong Ino?" Saki asked.

Sakura said Ino's shadow move towards the window, and Sakura quickly crept into the shadows just as Ino opened the window. She stared intently at Sakura in an indirect way, of course not actually seeing her. "Ino?"

"It's not Saki… I just thought… I thought I heard…" Ino trailed off, squinting to try to get a better look in the complete darkness. Sakura stiffened, terrified of being caught.

'_Say you thought you saw me… tell her how much you miss me…' _some part of Sakura hoped.

"Heard what Ino?" Saki asked once again.

There was a long pause. "It's nothing Saki… it's no one important."

Sakura's heart shattered all at once.

Something deep inside of Sakura had hoped that maybe Saki had been lying, and she had only been saying that stuff because she wanted Sakura out. But she hadn't been lying about Ino… what else hadn't she been lying about?

Sad enough, she decided to make this quick. She grabbed an item from her pocket, and set it down in front of the door. It was the pink and black barrette Ino had given her after being best friends for a full 10 years.

Sakura turned around and went to Naruto's apartment, slipping a photo of she and Naruto hugging each other tightly with big goofy grins on their faces. That had been taken when they were 16, 4 years ago.

Grabbing yet another picture, she went to Sai's house, slipping the photo of them 2, along with Kakashi, Yamato, and Naruto in there. It had been taken a few weeks after the Sasuke retrieval mission, which had failed miserably. After kissing it and putting all her emotions into it, she slipped under the doorway, and made her way to the last house.

As she approached Shizune's apartment, she saw the kitchen light on. She peered through the window, seeing Shizune passed out on the kitchen table, a bottle of sake next to her hand. Sakura frowned, but quickly put the photo under the doorway, before leaving.

Sakura sighed miserably as a tear rolled down her porcelain skin, and she turned around and left. She was leaving forever now. Not now, not never would she be coming back.

As Sakura exited the village, a small snow flake fell onto Sakura's forehead, and Sakura looked at her hand, seeing another small snowflake at the top of her finger.

The first snowflake of the year… It had now become winter and Sakura, had now become a missing-nin.

Not really though. Everyone –besides Saki and herself- thought she was dead. She couldn't be a missing-nin if she had supposedly 'died in action'. Yes, Sakura had seen her grave before exiting. Not a single flower adorned her grave, while the rest had several.

Sakura walked for around another hour or 2 before she stopped, feeling exhausted. That night she cried herself to sleep, hugging a small blanket next to her freezing cold body while the snow fell. Being under a tree didn't help as much as she hoped… some snow still managed to fall on her every now and then.

By 7 in the morning, the sun shined brightly, and melted most of the snow away. Sakura got up and ate some of the food she had stored in her bag, most being fruits, and then she started walking once again, not even knowing where she was going.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Are we there yet?" Hidan groaned. He was half-expecting Kakuzu to yell no at him and punch him in the face, but instead, he got a…

"Yes, now shut the hell up." They were in the fire country, delivering a body for a 10,000 yen bounty. Hidan stayed outside once again, not feeling like smelling the putrid smell of rotting flesh and the odor of piss all at the same time. It made a bad combination. A very bad combination…

Inside, Kakuzu opened the secret door, and quickly exchanged the body for the money. While the man was getting his money, he stared at the booklets filled with bounties.

Shikamaru Nara – 300,000 Location: Konohagakure

Yashama Iruzika – 150,000 Location: Kirigakure

Hinata Hyuga – 170,000 Location: Konohagakure

Kyoko Izuma – 100,000 Location: Sunagakure

Wataru Hideki – 75,000 Location: Otogakure

Sakura Haruno – 450,000 Location: Konohagakure

Suzuki Himawa – 125,000 Location: Otogakure

Sukiyo Imaware – 95,000 Location: Sunagakure

Rock Lee – 290,000 Location: Konohagakure

Kakashi Hatake – 400,000 Location: Konohagakure

"Here's your money Kakuzu" the man said, handing him the money.

Kakuzu eyed the list and all the pictures once more. _'It seems like Konoha is rising in strengths.' _Kakuzu thought before he counted his money correctly.

"It was nice doing business with you." Kakuzu said, taking the briefcase of money and exiting the putrid place without another word. He sort of wished he could stay in there longer though… he had long gotten used to the smell of death (considering he went there very frequently) and because he didn't want to go back to his whiny partner… he could already imagine what he would say next.

"Finally! Getting the hell out of here and going home." Hidan exclaimed, ready to start walking home.

"Not exactly." Kakuzu muttered, rolling his eyes seeing as Hidan had said _exactly _what he had imagined.

Hidan stopped dead in his tracks and looked back at Kakuzu. "What the hell do you mean? Leader said this was our only mission!" Hidan exclaimed. Hidan never found a need to call him 'leader-sama'. Most only called him that because they feared dying by his hands. He on the other hand, had nothing to worry about. It wasn't like he could die or anything… Plus, he was sadistic, and he quite enjoyed the pain… so what was _really _the point?

"We had a second part of our mission." Kakuzu hissed, trying hard to keep himself from rolling his eyes.

"And why the fuck didn't you tell me that before?!" Hidan exclaimed, wanting to kill someone right now… maybe himself… that way he wouldn't have to be alive for 30 minutes while he came back to life.

"Because then you wouldn't stop bitching about it." Kakuzu hissed, walking away while grabbing the suitcase tightly to his body. He knew how Hidan could get… Last time he tried to burn the money… the _**money**_!! Kakuzu would be damned if he let that happen again. They had lost over 500,000 yen that day and Hidan hadn't gotten killed once or twice, he got killed _10 _times in ways that would make even Kakuzu or _Itachi _wish they hadn't done it in the first place. It hadn't even been _him alone _who took a whack at him. Pein had done so too, and Konan joined in, disliking the fact that Hidan was a complete idiot and a selfish moron. Why would she be saying that?

Because some of that money was supposed to supply her for a full set of hairspray for a year, along with the pricey food that was super yummy, they had been stuck with instant ramen and peanut-butter sandwiches for half a year when they could have been eating lobster, sea food, dango, and other pricey foods. Almost everyone had killed him once.

Deidara and Sasori were extremely pissed, seeing as they had to cut back on their art, since they couldn't afford supplies. Zetsu wasn't all that mad, seeing as he only ate human and he didn't need anything but himself and his garden.

Itachi had been mad because well, no dango… that explained everything it needed to explain.

Kisame wasn't mad at all, seeing as he would be saving his fellow sea mates for a few months, but had taken a whack at him too because he found it amusing, fun, and he had nothing better to do.

Hidan grumbled in protest, but soon gave up seeing as there was no escape from this. "What do we have then?" Hidan asked.

"Gather some information on the 9-tailed Jinchuuriki." Kakuzu stated.

"But that's Kisame's and Itachi's Jinchuuriki. We got our damn Jinchuuriki already." Hidan whined.

"And they are currently not available for they have a mission in Mist. Suck it up." Kakuzu said.

"How long?" Hidan asked.

"A few hours." Kakuzu replied, hoping that would be the last he would hear of him. Apparently not. His annoying rants went on for a while…

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sakura sighed, wondering how far she would have to travel. She was already somewhere in the Fire Country, around 40-50 miles away from Konoha. In the distance, she could see 2 figures slowly walking her way. They were moving at a slow pace, as if they had nothing _but _time. Sakura didn't have _enough_.

Her eyes grew distant as she focused on the ground beneath her, feeling too sad to look at the men with time on their hands. She didn't even notice as they walked right past, and, she _definitely _didn't notice the black cloaks, or the red clouds.

…Kakuzu almost didn't notice her either… _almost_

Several feet after they had passed each other, Kakuzu stopped, staring straight ahead. Hidan stopped shortly after him and looked back. "What the hell Kakuzu?" Hidan whined.

Kakuzu turned around, examining the kunoichi who passed them by. "Sakura Haruno" he stated and watched as Sakura slowly stopped and turned around. That was when he barely noticed her current condition. It would be much easier to bring her down than he had previously thought.

"What is i-… oh…" Sakura said, finally recognizing the cloaks. "Akatsuki" she said, her voice not sounding as terrified as most should be. What was the point? She had signed her death wish long before she had seen them walking by in the distance. She signed her death wish the day she thought she had true friends in Konoha…

"Kakuzu… who is this… whatever she is." Hidan sneered, thinking she didn't even look human because of all her injuries.

"If you were listening Hidan," Kakuzu hissed, "this, is Sakura Haruno." Kakuzu directed his attention to Sakura. "You know your head is worth about 400,000 yen?" Kakuzu said.

"Is it?" Sakura said, half in a day dream.

"It is." Kakuzu said, a small breeze passing by them. There was a long silence, no one speaking or moving at all.

Before Sakura knew it, Kakuzu was throwing a kunai straight at her, and she watched in silence as it got closer and closer.

'_This is it… maybe I won't have to live in misery after all.' _Sakura thought, smiling slightly. The kunai passed right next to her face, grazing her skin slightly, drawing a tiny bit of blood.

"Why are you not dodging?" Kakuzu asked. No, he didn't suck at aiming, he had done that in purpose to see if she would actually put up a fight.

Sakura chuckled. "Does it look like I am able to dodge that?" Sakura asked, slight amusement coating her words. "Besides, you want me dead, I'm already dead. Just not physically." Sakura said. She looked at herself up and down. "Actually, that's pretty much dead too." She corrected herself.

"You know, she has a point. You look like hell sweety." Hidan said from the sidelines, leaning on his scythe. "I've seen some pretty bloody scenes in my day. Let me tell you, you go up to the top." Hidan said, whistling in astonishment.

"And I'm sure you do too when Kakuzu kills you." Sakura mused. "You don't look like a very patient person Kakuzu." Sakura added, seeing as Hidan snorted.

"I look 3 times worse than you do when he kills me." Hidan scoffed.

"Well then," Sakura said, focusing back on Kakuzu, "I won't waste your time any longer. Just do it now. I'm sure you have better things to do than waste your time talking to me about my lack of concern about dying." Sakura said.

"We're supposed to gather information about the 9-tailed Jinchuuriki." Kakuzu responded, seeing a flash of emotion run through Sakura's face. "I read the information on you. You're rather close to him, are you not?" Kakuzu said, thinking maybe they could use her as hostage before they take her in for money.

Sakura laughed a honey laugh though it was filled with sorrow. "You can't claim that I'm a hostage if I've been dead for a month." Sakura said.

"Oh," Kakuzu said, finding her situation slightly interesting, though he didn't fully understand himself. "So they think you're dead. Maybe I should just take your head then." Kakuzu said.

"It's as I've been saying since the beginning." Sakura said, sighing. She really hated wasting time. Especially when her time on this god forsaken place was limited.

"And if we tell them otherwise? If we tell them you're alive?"

"I don't think we've been taught to trust Akatsuki. They think I'm dead… and they wouldn't even bother looking for me… Why would they accept an agreement with Akatsuki?" Sakura mused. She didn't know what was leading her on, but she at least wished for Naruto's safety… it was the least she could do after everything he had done for her… even if he didn't care anymore.

"Just kill her and get this over with Kakuzu." Hidan whined.

Before Kakuzu could talk back to Hidan, their rings started glowing, meaning there was a meeting. "A reunion of some sort I see… don't worry… I don't plan on leaving." Sakura assured them, sitting on a boulder nearby, her foot hurting too much.

"Keep an eye on her Hidan." Kakuzu muttered before he made some hand signs.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"_How are thing going with everyone?" a man covered by shadows asked._

"_We have successfully assassinated the man and are on our way now." Kisame said, speaking for him and the shadowed figure next to him with glowing red eyes._

"_Kakuzu?" Konan asked, a month of hair spray still in her mind._

"_I have obtained the money… But…" Kakuzu trailed off._

"_But?" Pein repeated._

"_We have run into another hit…" Kakuzu said._

"_Worth?"_

"_450,000… the highest hit I've seen all year… Even higher than the copy-cat nin." Kakuzu stated._

"_Then what's the trouble? May you need some help securing him?" Pein asked, willing to send a few more people for such a price._

"_No, on the contraire, she's __**willing **__to let us take her…" Kakuzu corrected Pein._

"_She?" Konan asked, surprised. Most were males…and at such a high price, they were __**only **__males._

"_Even better for us then, secure her quickly." Pein said._

"_It's the Gondaime's apprentice." Kakuzu quickly added before Pein cut the connection. The room stayed silent, Kakuzu's words clearly sinking in to their minds. "Hidan is watching her right now." Kakuzu stated._

"_A hostage to lure the 9-tails then." Pein stated._

"_She claims they think she's dead. It won't do us any good if no one knows she's alive." Kakuzu spoke._

"_A lie, obviously." Kisame said._

"_I don't know… she really looks like shit right now… She could be saying the honest truth." Hidan said, appearing next to the figure of Kakuzu._

"_Are we not in need of a medic?" Zetsu's light side spoke up, finally making themselves seen._

"_We wouldn't need one if Deidara wouldn't use such suicidal techniques." Konan rolled her eyes._

"_Actually… I sort of… kind of… broke my arm while fighting the target off." Kisame said, grinning sheepishly._

_Pein sighed. "Very well, take her to us. She'll heal you then we'll get rid of her. Meet in the base by nightfall." Pein stated before he and Konan disappeared._

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"So… what'd you all decide." Sakura asked, staring at the sky, seeing the clouds turn gray once again. More rain? This winter would surely be a very cold one.

"You'll know once we get there… come." Kakuzu spoke, turning around and jumping to a tree.

Sakura laughed. "Yeah… small problem with that route." Sakura said. Kakuzu turned around, waiting for her to speak. "Hello… near-death mean anything to you?" Sakura said, waving her arms and pointing to her body.

"Hidan, carry her." He stated, jumping from tree to tree, not even waiting for them.

They looked at each other before Hidan walked up to her and picked her up.

"Ouch you prick! You're opening my wounds up again." Sakura glared.

"Well then, what position is comfortable for you, your highness." Hidan asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"None… there is no way you could transport me without causing me pain." Sakura stated matter-of-factly.

"Too bad. You'll live with what I give you." Hidan said. He put her back down as gently as he could, which wasn't that gentle, and then he picked her up bridal style, jumping speedily into the trees and catching up with Kakuzu.

"This hurts" Sakura stated.

"Well too damn bad."

Sakura groaned…this would be a long road trip. She had asked them to kill her and now they were taking her to… somewhere. Wherever that was, she didn't think she would like it one bit.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After about 2 hours of jumping from tree to tree, they jumped back to the ground and waited for about a minute.

"So… what are we waiting for?" Sakura asked.

Her answer was shortly given to her when 2 figures jumped from the bushes. Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki. Sakura didn't know whether she should feel terrified, or relieved. She was being handled by 4 S-Class missing-nin. Surely she would die any minute now where she could rest in peace for the rest of her life.

"That's her?" Kisame voiced his thoughts, and Kakuzu merely nodded in response.

"She's the highest price on the market? _She's _supposed to be worth 450,000 yen?" Kisame asked in disbelief.

"What's your point fishy?" Sakura asked, seeing the resemblance between him and a fish…

"My point is _pinky, _that you don't look all too strong." Kisame said, not backing down from the nickname calling.

Sakura shrugged. "You look like a cuddly fish… you don't see me judging you by that." Sakura said.

"Cuddly?" Hidan asked, making her look up.

"No one asked for your opinion." Sakura scoffed.

"Enough, let's get going." Kakuzu snapped.

"Hold on a second." Sakura insisted, making them all stop. "Can I switch my transportation method? Hidan is very uncomfortable." Sakura said, glaring at Hidan.

"You could go on me." Kisame offered, shrugging and giving her a toothy grin.

"You're like the only option." Sakura muttered to herself as Hidan put her down and she limped towards Kisame. Kisame picked her up with one hand, the other one being broken. He steadied her down on his right shoulder and looked up, grinning. "You're as light as a little shrimp." Kisame grinned.

"Umm… thank you… I think…" Sakura said unsurely. She didn't know why, but she had felt a whole lot better being with the Akatsuki… well, Kisame more specifically, and Hidan slightly, seeing as she made her laugh every now and then with his comments.

"Let's go." The ever stoic Uchiha said before they all dashed off at incredible speed. Sakura stared at him for a second, but she instantly regretted it, being reminded of Sasuke almost instantly.

Sakura focused her attention on something else, and instead focused on how Kisame was able to keep her balanced on his shoulder the entire time… this man was good. And she had to admit, this was much comfortable than being held bridal-style by Hidan. Her whole body could practically fit in Kisame's arm… either she was puny, or Kisame was… extra big. Both factors helped though, considering Sakura couldn't be more than 5'6, and Kisame couldn't be less than 7'9. Sakura couldn't help herself as she fell asleep, feeling exhausted, and comfortable in Kisame's… arm.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sakura woke up, feeling her whole body aching… Last thing she knew, she was taking a nice little nap on Kisame's arm…

Oh wait… Akatsuki…

'**Hello?! Akatsuki!' **something deep inside her snapped her thoughts, realizing she was dealing with the deadliest organization which was after her _ex-_best friend.

"She's finally awake."

Sakura tore her eyes away from the floor, which was what they had settled on after realizing she had been talking about Naruto, and then stared at the occupants in the room.

"Sakura Haruno?" the leader (which was what Sakura concluded) asked, but it sounded more like a statement.

"Umm… yeah… I guess." Sakura spoke, staring at the rope which was currently tying her to a chair. "Was this really necessary? It's not like I could escape from 6 S-Class criminals in my current condition." Sakura spoke, letting a big yawn escape her lips.

Pein ignored her comment completely (knowing that her logic made perfect sense), and spoke up once again. "We wish for you to heal Kisame's arm, along with Deidara when he gets back." Pein commanded.

Sakura blinked, dumbfounded at their sudden statement. "…Why would I heal Akatsuki, really?" Sakura asked.

"**We'll kill you if you defy orders."** Zetsu's dark side said, a wave of hunger washing over him.

Sakura scoffed, hurting her lung a bit. "And like you wouldn't dispose of me afterwards? I wasn't born yesterday. Besides, dying doesn't sound like such a bad idea." Sakura said, an image of getting decapitated, bombed, eaten, stabbed, and Mangekyou'd went through her mind… It didn't seem so bad… considering she had actually been wishing Kakuzu would have killed her there, and let them keep the money.

"Maybe we should just take the recompense for her head." Kakuzu said, the thought of money going through his mind… sweet, glorious money.

"She's worth more than they lead on." Itachi spoke from a dark corner of the room, leaving everyone's eyes on him first, and then landing on Sakura.

"I agree with Itachi-san." Sasori said from another corner of the room, acknowledging Sakura's potential. "She has killed me before, who's to say her skills didn't improve dramatically since then? Not to mention she's been training with the fifth Hokage, maybe even stronger." Sasori said, not even flinching when he stated he had killed her. But then again, most of everyone in that room wouldn't even bat an eyelash at having their arm chopped off, Sakura included. She had gone through hell this past month, and especially trying to get to Konoha.

"I don't believe she'll accept obeying us… being a loyal kunoichi of Konoha, and being friends of the 9-tails himself. Nar-"

"Please don't speak his name. And no, I am not a kunoichi of the leaf. Not anymore anyway." Sakura spoke, trying to glare daggers at Kakuzu, but it looked rather smeared and slurred, making it look like she was drunk.

"_Ahh yes… you said something about your separation with the leaf Village." _Zetsu's light side said.

"Not really a separation. I was tricked, and they think I'm dead… that's all there is to it." Sakura said, trying to shrug, but the rope around her refrained her from doing so.

"Well then, you have nothing to lose." Pein said, his mouth quirking into a small smile… if you could call it that. A smile of evil, or a wicked smirk was more like it. "You will heal Akatsuki, and then you may perish if you wish it so." he spoke trying to strike up a deal, though it didn't really sound convincing to most ears. Who wants to help an enemy with the return of their death? Sakura did, that was for sure. But, Sakura was one smart cookie.

"Why would I let you guys do something I could do myself?" Sakura sneered, trying to laugh.

Hidan laughed. "She has a point."

"But then again, it's not like you have anything to offer me if I plan to die by the end of this day." Sakura said, weighing her options, a slight frown on her face. It hurt her brain to think this much… it was faltering.

"You'll heal us, and you'll do as you please. If not, we keep you captive, near death-condition, but won't let you die." Itachi spoke, sounding as smart as ever.

Once again, Sakura was forced to use her brain, no matter of much it was faltering. "Good enough" Sakura sighed, not fully understanding what she had just signed herself up for. Almost as soon as she finished the last word, the ropes had been cut off, giving her room to move her body.

"Heal my arm first please." Kisame pleaded as Zetsu cut off the ropes on her arms and body.

Sakura blinked in cluelessness, seeing Kisame look at her with an expecting look. Seconds later, Sakura started laughing, remembering her mistake.

"What's so funny?" Hidan asked.

Sakura lifted her shirt so that they could see her belly. There was a small black seal, and everyone eyed it with curiosity. "My chakra has been sealed off by the person who faked my death… I can't believe I forgot." Sakura said, giggling some more before slapping her forehead.

"Are you fucken serious?! What a dumbass." Hidan sneered, laughing once again.

Sakura glared at him. "Do you think I'd still have this many injuries if I were able to heal myself? Wanting death or not, this shit hurts like hell so shut the fuck up." Sakura hissed, raising a hand and flipping her off.

"Who's the dumb ass now?" Sakura raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Or more specifically, **Who are**."

"Oooh, how scary… a finger…" Hidan said, faking a terrified face.

"This finger would be able to crack your skull… you should be afraid." Sakura glared.

"But for now, it's just a tiny little pinky, useless, and puny." Hidan mocked, making Sakura all the more angrier.

"Hidan." Kakuzu warned, wanting to kill him for his annoyance now.

"Itachi" Pein spoke, staring at Itachi.

As if on cue, Itachi walked up with his fiery eyes ablaze, and stared at Sakura's belly. Sakura looked away, in fear of being reminded of Sasuke. That would only bring back painful memories she didn't need.

"3" Itachi spoke, turning around and leaning back on the wall he had been on previously.

"So… does that mean 3 weeks or something?" Deidara asked.

"In Uchiha language, that would be referred as "3 days"." Sakura spoke, pulling her shirt down. "So what am I to do before those 3 days expire… or would you all just prefer to kill me now?" Sakura asked, getting ready to get her head chopped off or something. "My pretty little pink head is worth a lot ya know." Sakura said in a sing-song voice.

Silence overtook the room, the occupants obviously waiting for Pein, the leader, to make the decision. "We'll wait" Itachi suddenly spoke, leaving the room. Sakura eyed him curiously… since when did he become the person to make decisions?

"What the fuck is his problem? I say we just kill her and take the m-" Hidan was cut off short when Pein sent a fist to his face, succeeding in breaking a few walls and probably killing him.

"She's a guest, no brutal treatment. We don't need her dying before she heals our team." Pein spoke, exiting the room with Konan following shortly after.

Konan hadn't said a single word at all, for she seemed to accept whatever Pein had said. They must been really close, was what Sakura concluded, seeing Konan flash her a look filled with worry, happiness, and glee, before leaving Sakura alone.

"Sounds good to me." Kisame said, wrapping up his arm in a bandage and giving Sakura a toothy grin. "Follow me… I'll give you a tour." Kisame offered, giving her a hand.

Sakura nodded, immediately feeling comfortable with Kisame. Something about his blue fishiness reminded her of joy… He reminded her of Naruto with his goofy grins and his attitude, and he also somehow reminded him of Lee… probably brave, carefree, and courageous…

"Sounds good sharky." Sakura said, using his hand for support and pulling herself up.

"What happened to fishy, kitten?" Kisame asked.

"Ehh, it doesn't suit you very well with your body mass and sharp teeth. I much prefer sharky too… it sounds dangerous and stealthy, much like you must be… fishy just sounds small, puny, and dumb." Sakura said, grinning a grin she would usually only show Naruto.

Kisame chuckled, turning to face Kakuzu. "I like this little shrimp. You should have captured her _ages _ago." Kisame said.

Kakuzu merely rolled his eyes, exiting the room. Really, he just wanted the money… that was all he wanted…

Together, the 2 of them went exploring the whole Akatsuki base, Sakura only carrying half her weight all the way there.

"…And this is Sasori's room… and right across it is Itachi's, and mine right next to his." Kisame explained, pointing to the individual doors.

"What about Deidara's, Zetsu's, Hidan's, Konan's, and Pein-san's, and Tobi's room?" Sakura asked, being introduced to their names earlier in the tour.

"Deidara and Tobi's rooms are a bit far away… Most find Tobi too annoying and Deidara plays with explosives too much. Zetsu doesn't sleep like us… and his dark side usually gets hungry often so we can't be around him too much. Konan and Leader-sama's room is a bit far away as well…" Kisame said.

"So… you keep the loud ones away?" Sakura chuckled, remembering how Naruto's tent was always far away from everyone else's on missions because he was always an obnoxious sleeper, who talks, snores, and farts in his sleep…

Sakura stopped walking momentarily, looking down as she started to remember past memories. A few steps away, Kisame stopped walking and turned around in curiosity.

"Kitten?" he asked, seeing her eyes go far, and distant. He waited for a while, but got no response.

"_Sakura let's go shopping now!" Ino demanded, bursting through the door of her apartment,_

"_It's five in the morning Ino… why would you possibly need to go shopping?" Sakura argued, obviously still in bed._

"_I have a date with some guy and I have nothing to wear!" Ino exclaimed, as if that were one of the worst things that could possibly happen to her._

_Sakura stared at her oddly, before laying her head back on her pillow and pulling the blankets over her entire body, only having them being pulled off seconds later._

"_WE'RE GOING SHOPPING!" Ino shouted ferociously._

"Shrimp?" Kisame said once again, trying to catch her attention.

"_Sasuke! You've been acting all mysterious all day! Can you tell me what's wrong?" Sakura pouted, crossing her arms across her chest as she made her way past the Uchiha compound._

"_It's nothing." Sasuke assured her for the fifth time that minute, going to his house._

"_Right… I know you much better than that Sasuke. So unless you want to wake up tied to a tree, I suggest you spill." Sakura threatened as she stood to the side as Sasuke opened the door._

_They walked in, everything pitch black._

"_SA-"_

"_SURPRISE!!"_

_Sakura literally screamed and jumped into Sasuke's arms, scared at the sudden noise._

"_Happy Birthday Sakura" Sasuke whispered in her ear. Sakura looked flabbergasted… she had __**completely **__forgotten it was her birth-day… but then again, she forgets every year… so no shocker there._

"Pinky!" Kisame said loudly, poking her in the cheek.

Sakura gasped, tears on the corner of her eyes as she tried to push them back.

"I-I'm sorry I was j-just… recalling some m-memories." Sakura stuttered, trying to compose herself though she only looked desperate for some comfort.

"You're a bit shaken up kitten… you sure you're okay?" Kisame asked.

Sakura stood there in silence, trying to speak out 'yes', but nothing came out. Sakura tried too hard to speak out, and when she finally did thirty seconds later, she ended up blurting out a big, fat, "No"

Sakura broke down with a few tears, wishing so badly for the comfort that she used to have back in Konoha.

"Kitten… calm down… come on." Kisame said, whispering slightly. He had only been allowed to be near Itachi and Sasori because he didn't disturb anyone. If he started now, he would have to move in with…

Kisame crinkled his nose. _'Deidara and Tobi…'_

Kisame picked her up slowly, making sure not to hurt her, and he quickly entered his room, shutting the door behind him. He laid her down on a blue couch, and sat next to her, his hand on her shoulder, for what he hoped gave her comfort.

"I know it must be hard Kitten…" Kisame trailed off, trying to find the correct words. He wasn't all too good when it came to comfort. He was an 8-foot tall shark-man who killed people for a living… it wouldn't suit him to be the comfort and problem-listener type of person, did it?

But to be honest, he really didn't understand all too well. He hadn't ever been betrayed like this. Hell, he hardly had any friends, if you could consider what he _actually _had a friend. The closest thing he had to family was the Akatsuki, and the closest thing to a friend was actually Itachi, and he didn't even understand all of Itachi's silent words and their meanings all too well either. He was getting there though, he really was. He was one of the only people who could actually try to have a conversation with Itachi without finding a way to offend him, or getting kicked through a wall for being annoying…

A concept neither Tobi, Deidara, or Hidan had managed to grasp completely…

Sakura shook her head. "No… I shouldn't cry over this. If it was meant to be, it was meant to be. They obviously didn't care about me, so I shouldn't care for them." Sakura said.

Truly, this place was much better, she thought. Because here at least, they made it _**crystal clear **_they were only using her, and they had no purpose or goal to befriend her. At least here, she didn't have to pretend, and believe they all gave a damn about her, because they didn't and they had stated that, by explaining they needed her to heal them all, so they could have her head for the money she was worth.

Truly here, was much better. Here she was living a life filled with lies and deception. Just one with loneliness.

"Now I'm not one to tell you anything Kitten, but looking at it that way may be wrong…" Kisame trailed off, shrugging. "Because even they gave you some sort of strength, and knowledge… you know what I'm saying?" Kisame said, hoping it made sense, because to him, it didn't. He was just hoping in her ears it made as much sense as it did in his head, before he voiced his thoughts.

This made Sakura think for a few seconds, before she replied with a sorrowful laugh. "I'd rather not have experienced anything with them at all, than have experienced all this pain, mentally, and physically." Sakura said.

"But people can later turn that pain into knowledge, so as to not make that mistake again." Kisame replied.

They stood there in silence with only Sakura's sniffs and miserable sighs every now and then, until they ceased all together, after a few minutes.

Kisame sighed in relief, glad that he had gotten her to stop crying for the time being. Surely now he wouldn't get kicked out of the area, and be forced to stay with Tobi and Deidara. He surely didn't want that… that would be a pain in the ass, staying with a guy who acted like an eight year old girl, freaking out because "Ken dumped Barbie!", or staying with a full grown man who loved playing with clay, and immature enough to enjoy it when they blew up and caused destruction.

It wasn't until later that day that Sakura had received word that someone would come by soon to help get her out of the bloody clothes, and get her into better clothes, that she was actually introduced with another member, Konan.

Very pretty she was, with piercings that gave her an edgy yet dangerous look that said "fuck with me, and I'll be the last thing you ever see", all the while keeping her elegant and graceful look balanced with a wild side that was ready to kill you. Not to mention that paper flower in her hair only furthered to increase her beauty, having it match with her sophisticated aura of power and intelligence.

They hardly spoke any words while Konan helped Sakura bathe and dress, only saying their names, and speaking when needed to.

And, it wasn't until Konan saw the true severe condition her injuries were that she let out a whistle of shock, that whistle being the only emotion she had seen all day in her, besides earlier that day when being interrogated, if you could call it that anyway.

"Whoever did that to you must have gotten you pretty badly. Deep grudge she must have, I'm guessing." Konan said, giving Sakura a towel to wrap herself in. They were currently in her room, because it was clearly not suitable for her to bathe in a guy's bathroom.

"How'd you know it was a she?" Sakura asked, taking the towel gratefully.

"Any guy wouldn't obviously fill those blows with so much hate. You have a katana _through _your lung. You don't seem to be the type to go off on people either. That bitch must have been jealous." Konan explained.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You have no idea."

Konan helped bandage Sakura up, which was mostly her entire body, and then gave her some of her own clothes, stating that it was much to clothes to wear her own clothes.

Sakura had on a long-sleeved fishnet shirt, with a black shirt on top of that dived in to show some chest, and was three quarters of a long sleeve, reaching a little further than her elbows. Sakura then got some black tights, and a skirt similar to her own, but gray, afterwards. Sakura decided to use her gray gloves, to keep her hands warm, and then her boots to top everything off.

Yup… Sakura was pretty warm at the moment.

Sakura and Konan were about finished around dinner time, where Konan announced that she would be joining them for dinner. Sakura questioned her about it while Konan brushed her hair.

"As Pein said, you are a guest, not a hostage." Konan replied, and Sakura didn't miss the fact that she was the only one to not call him 'Leader-sama', or something near those terms. Konan put Sakura's hair up in a bun with her bangs framing her face, stating that she hadn't had enough of this lately.

This made Sakura giggle slightly. "In the toughest evil organization in all 5 Great Shinobi Nations, filled with nothing but men, and still having the need to braid hair and do toe nails. I thought that would be a long-lost dream for you." Sakura said.

"It is. Being the only woman here had been hard. Unlike everyone else, I had to gain my respect here the hard way. Killing Hidan a few hundred times and beating Deidara and Kakuzu in battle several times had proven to help me earn my respect." Konan explained.

"I'll go get Kisame so he can move you around easier." Konan said, promising she would be back soon.

Sakura simply nodded, taking the alone time as time to get her thoughts straight. Thoughts about who she was…

Who was she?

Was she still Sakura Haruno? Even if everyone –besides herself, Saki, and the Akatsuki- thought she was dead? Technically, she didn't exist anymore, so who was she? A ghost of Sakura? Her shell maybe? Her thoughts didn't wander for too long because Konan entered once again, with Kisame following behind her. Unlike before, Konan's face was hard as stone, and all kindness and emotion had left her face. Apparently, they took showing emotions here especially hard for Konan as well.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"What is there to eat?" Sakura asked, being carried by Kisame, walking next to Konan.

"Anything you want, Kitten." Kisame gave her a toothy grin.

"I suppose you all must eat well then."

"You guessed correct." Konan spoke, and Sakura shivered at the pure coldness in it. She liked it better when they were alone, and Konan didn't have to act so evil.

Entering the dining room, Sakura smelt sweet aromas fill the air. There was ramen, dango, onigiri, lobster, fish, even some more wonderful smells she couldn't exactly make out. Her mouth watered just smelling all of the delicious foods.

Seeing the dining, she noticed it was connected to a living room, with a TV and some couches, thought it all looked untouched. It seemed people here usually tended to stick to themselves, if not on missions, or necessary.

"What would you like?" Konan's cold voice said.

Sakura hesitated. "Umm… just… ramen… I guess… beef please."

Konan nodded, going in a door at the corner of the room, and coming back a few minutes after, stating her ramen would be done shortly.

Sakura sat down on a large round table, in between Kisame and Konan, and across the person she noted to be Tobi, the loud and obnoxious one, so told by Kisame. Sakura sat there, watching as one by one, each Akatsuki member filed in to the kitchen, taking their own seats, and just… sitting.

"Kisame," Sakura whispered, nudging Kisame with her elbow as she continued. "Who exactly makes the food?" Sakura asked, noting that it didn't seem like anyone was preparing anything, even if the room was filled with delicious aromas.

"We have our own cooks." Kisame said, pointing to the door Konan had gone through, as it opened, revealing a somewhat chubby old man with her bowl of ramen. He looked somewhat terrified, and moved quickly.

After staring at him, Sakura looked back at Kisame and raised an eyebrow. "Fine… we sort of… keep them captive, I suppose you can say." Kisame said, grinning toothily.

"I guessed as much." Sakura rolled her eyes, as she stared at the bowl of beef ramen in front of her.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Itadakimasu" Sasuke grumbled, breaking his chop sticks and digging into his beef ramen, Naruto on his left, already on his third bowl.

"What's the matter with you?" Naruto muttered, glancing at him for only seconds before resuming his attention back to his ramen.

"It's been a long week." Sasuke stated, rubbing his necks sourly, trying to soothe his tense muscles. Times like these, he really needed Sakura's gentle touch…

A pang went through his heart as he instinctively gripped his chopsticks tightly.

"Sasuke-kun!"

They immediately shattered, as he glared at his ramen bowl.

"I'll talk to you later Naruto." Sasuke stood up, throwing his money swiftly on the counter as he turned around, immediately bumping into Saki.

Sasuke side-stepped trying to go around her, but she side-stepped as well, blocking his path.

"What?" Sasuke snapped in annoyance.

"You're leaving already?" she asked, pouting.

"Yeah, I'm full already." Sasuke stated.

Saki peered over his shoulder. "But you haven't even touched your ramen." Saki stated, and Sasuke glared at nothing in particular.

"I've already had some before that bowl."

"That's your first bowl Sasuke-teme!" Naruto shouted, noodles hanging out of his mouth.

Saki stared at him, waiting for an explanation. "I'm just not hungry." Sasuke snapped.

"Well then maybe we co-"

"No." Sasuke rejected harshly. "Good bye"

And with that, Sasuke disappeared in a swirl of ashes.

Saki sighed in disappointment. "You can sit with me Saki!" Naruto said cheerily.

"That's okay Naruto. I'm going shopping anyway." Saki said, turning around and walking away, glaring the whole time.

Damn it. Why was Sasuke suddenly avoiding her?

Saki frowned, remembering the time right before she had met up with Sakura. Maybe she had said a little white lie to Sakura… because technically,

**She And Sasuke Were **_**Not**_** Together**

No, what had really happened was that she had begged Sasuke to drop her off in the main gates, and she had had to beg him for an hour for him to finally agree, just to make her stop annoying her. Once there, Saku had kissed him, as a thank you, of course.

Why couldn't she have it so easy? Why couldn't Sasuke fall in love with her just as he had fallen in love with Sakura? _'Damn it all it just isn't fair!!' _Saki thought in frustration.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sasuke let out a tiny sigh, appearing on the roof of his house. He glared at nothing in particular, and then after a while, wiped his mouth off harshly, as if some kind of disease were on it, and he was in danger of getting infected.

Why had Saki suddenly jumped on him like that? Yesterday… what the hell was she thinking?

'_God damn it Saki!' _Sasuke thought in frustration. He didn't understand why Saki had kissed him. But when she did, he froze. He froze not only because he was shocked, but because he had only shared his lips with Sakura… and Naruto if you count that one time… but he didn't particularly want to recall that as his 'first kiss'.

After he did regain his composure, he had pushed her off, and told her to stop messing around.

"_I'm not messing around Sasuke-kun! I really do love you!" Saki proclaimed, small tears on the corner of her eyes._

"_Well I don't love you! I love Sakura. And if you truly respected me, you would respect my feelings and leave me alone." Sasuke said, turning around and leaving as hurriedly as he could._

He had betrayed Sakura not only once, but twice now. The first when he had left her alone, and now… he betrayed her by kissing Saki. He couldn't even look at himself in the mirror right now. He just felt so disgusted with himself… it was sickening.

'_Can you really betray someone who's dead?' _a voice deep inside of him rang, echoing in his empty shell-of-a-body. He had become like this every since Sakura had passed away… he felt like his old self, locked away in the darkness he had been creating himself. Except this time, he had no cure. His cure had died, burned to a crisp by a suicide-technique which blew her body up into tiny little pieces.

'_I promised to love her forever… of course I'm betraying her!' _another side of him shouted, angered he would even consider such a thing.

'_She'd want you to move on.' _The same voice counter-argued.

'_It's too soon to move on!'_

'_It's been a month since her death. Get over it!' _his negative self counter-argued yet again.

'_It's __**only **__been a month." _Sasuke thought, looking down in sadness.

Only a month since Sakura had perished from the lives of everyone… how much longer would he have to put up with this pain? How much longer would he have to suffer like these, having the person he loved the most being ripped away from his grasp. He didn't want this pain anymore… he knew that shinobi risked their lives every day, going on missions, and it was normal if a shinobi died every now and then…

But he never thought Sakura would be next. Never in a million years would he have thought Sakura would have died at the early age of 20. He had expected them both to grow old –with Naruto right by their side- with many beautiful mini Uchihas' around them(damn hormones) while the 3 of them sat on rocking chairs, watching the next generation take over, Naruto, obviously still Hokage.

_That _was how things were supposed to have gone. Not… like this. This was all wrong.

Standing up and dusting himself off, he decided to pay Sakura's apartment a visit, deciding he needed her comfort more than anything right now. Even her scent would help him out even the slightest bit.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Ino?" he found himself blurting out, seeing Ino standing there in front of her apartment, her hand hesitantly on the door.

Ino jumped slightly, turning around in shock, one hand with a kunai. Must have been a natural reaction, he supposed.

"Oh… S-Sasuke... I-I didn't feel y-you coming." Ino stuttered out in shock, putting the kunai away back in her pouch. "What brings you here?" Ino asked, recomposing herself and giving him a small smile.

"In need of some comfort." He admitted. He didn't know why, but he wasn't afraid of letting his emotions slip this one time, because there should not be anything to be embarrassed about… he missed Sakura, and he wasn't willing to hide that emotion. That one emotion that kept him connected to Sakura.

"Oh…" Ino said sadly, gripping something tightly.

"And you?"

"I… uhhmm…" Ino trailed off hesitantly. Sasuke raised an eyebrow in question. "Well… when I woke up this morning and went to get the mail… I found this on my door step." Ino said, opening her hand and showing Sasuke the barrette.

"Why does it bring you here?" Sasuke asked.

"Well… This is something I gave Sakura… I don't think it would just randomly appear on my doorstep if-"

"Someone just dropped it then." Sasuke cut her off, not wanting to hear those words.

"Yeah but directly on my doorstep? And besides… I only gave Sakura one of these…" Ino trailed off, looking at the item in her hand sadly.

"Someone else must have dropped it accident-"

"No Sasuke!" Ino shouted, trying to explain to him. "I'm the only person who made these! This is the exact one I gave Sakura damn it!" Ino shouted, turning it around and showing him some small carving almost unreadable because it was so tiny.

_Best friends forever forehead_

"This was _hers _Sasuke! I know it was!" Ino pleaded with him to believe her, tears in the corner of her eyes.

"You're trying to tell me she's _alive _Ino?" Sasuke asked, glaring slightly. Even though he hated to admit it, the sheer possibility of it was completely _ridiculous. _

"Well I don't know… but who else would have snuck into her apartment and… a-"

"And what Ino? Snuck a barrette out of her apartment just to leave it at your doorstep? I heard her _scream _Ino. Her scream _right before _the suicidal jutsu was activated. Right before everything was _blown to bits!_" Sasuke stated, the sheer memory of it making his Sharingan turn on in anger. Ino backed away ever so slightly.

"I don't know Sasuke! But no one has been in her apartment since you all left from the mission! Who else would've-" before Ino could finish her sentence, Sasuke's anger flared and his hand lifted, ready to hit something.

Ino flinched and shut her eyes closed tightly, waiting for the impact. It must hurt Sasuke telling him now, after a whole month, that maybe his girl friend wasn't dead… but… what else could she tell him?

"Sasuke-teme what do you think you're doing!"

Sakura opened her eyes in shock, seeing not only Naruto, but Sai as well, holding Sasuke back, who was ready to pounce on Ino with so much intensity.

All Ino could do was break down crying,

"I-'m sorry I… I…" Ino couldn't even finish her sentence as she leaned on the apartment wall, sliding down and holding her legs to her chest tightly. She couldn't hold it in any longer.

"You're lying Ino!" Sasuke growled trying to move forward once again. Naruto tackled him against the wall, sustaining him from making anymore while movements while Sai helped Ino up.

"Are you okay, Gorgeous?" Sai asked, bending one knee on the floor, trying to see if Ino was okay.

Ino merely nodded, but the waterworks still came.

"Teme what the hell is your problem?!" Naruto exclaimed, releasing Sasuke after he calmed down, but still keeping a wary eye on him. He was still capable to go on a rampage if his anger rose again.

"Ino says this morning she found Sakura's barrette in her door step. She says it had to be Sakura to put it there. Tell her how ridiculous she's sounding Naruto. Tell her how wrong she must be." Sasuke glared at Ino's direction, which only made Ino all the more terrified and sad.

"I know what saw you guys! I saw Sakura yesterday, in the shadows!" she pleaded.

"Sakura's been dead for a month Ino! She can't… she can't be back!" Sasuke said, but he sounded unsure and desperate as well. No matter how hard he told himself that Sakura would never be able to come back, his whole being wanted to agree with Ino. To say that Sakura was alive was almost impossible though… not after what she would have to go through to get here.

"Sasuke" Naruto's voice broke through his train of thoughts. He waited for Naruto to speak, expecting for Naruto to agree with him. "I don't know if this means anything… but…" Naruto trailed off, pulling a photo out of his pockets and letting Sai, Sasuke, and Ino see it.

"You're picture with Sakura after training 4 years ago?" Sasuke said, raising an eyebrow.

Naruto shook his head. "Notice this one has a pink frame on it." Naruto quickly added, before pulling out an identical picture of it. "_This one's _my photo." Naruto stated, holding the plain one on his other hand, and showing it around. "I found Sakura's today right after you left Ichiraku's. I didn't see it earlier because I was late for the upcoming mission description and I ran out my window." Naruto explained. He turned Sakura's picture around.

_Property of Sakura Haruno. If found, please return. If you don't… you're dead -_-_

"What… what is this supposed to mean?" Sasuke muttered to himself, drowning out everyone and everything, while Ino started crying louder in the background.

"Someone must have snuck into her apartment and given us her pictures! Someone's just playing a sick prank on you guys." Sasuke explained.

"Then why is it you didn't get one?" Sai suggested.

"I don't know! You didn't get one either!" Sasuke proclaimed, and all eyes turned to Sai.

Sasuke waited impatiently, waiting for him to deny ever getting one, but instead, he pulled out a picture as well.

"I found it early in the morning, and said I would investigate after my mission briefing with Naruto. I was delayed when I had to help Ibiki interrogate an Iwa-nin."

Sai held the picture by the corners, not wanting to touch anything else.

"I don't believe it's any random person either."

Everyone's eyes turned to Shizune, who suddenly made herself visible.

"Don't tell me you got one too." Sasuke hoped. Shizune looked down, pulling her own picture out too. It had been with Sakura and Tsunade, while they were helping her learn advanced medical-ninjutsu.

"What leads you to believe it wasn't just some random person?" Sai asked.

"The day we had her funeral, I checked her apartment… the door had been locked. I never bothered to come in, seeing as it was disrespecting her property… and as we can see," Shizune said, pointing to Sakura's window, "this place wasn't vandalized whatsoever."

Sai stared at his picture, the sun gleaming. From the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something on the picture. Moving it, to direct the sun on a specific part of the picture, he could clearly make out… lips?

"Shizune, tell me my eyes deceive me but are those lips?" Sai asked, staring intently at the picture.

Shizune went next to him, examining the picture as well.

"I think… I think they are."

**End of Chapter**

**Hehe… a little cliffy D:D **

**Sorry peoples, but if I didn't stop it there, this chapter would have been way too long D:**

**Anyway, I'd like to thank all the **_**wonderful, marvelous reviwers!!!! **_**You are all out-doing yourself really!! I know I asked for more reviews for the 2****nd**** chapter but wow people!!! 28 reviews!!! Give me anymore and I might just have to update sooner xD**

**I said I wasn't planning on updating this too much but all the wonderful reviews are giving me inspiration I just can't help but update lol!!**

**Next Chapter: Revival (Title May Change)**

**Update Time: I'll go for 2 weeks people!! But I want to update 2 stories before I update this again, so I can catch up on everything so I don't know…… D:**

**-Marzy-chan :)**


	4. Theories

**Hello there everyone! Sorry if it took me a while for the next chapter D: School is such a drag! I'm getting too many projects D:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form.**

_Recap_

"_I don't believe it's any random person either."_

_Everyone's eyes turned to Shizune, who suddenly made herself visible._

"_Don't tell me you got one too." Sasuke hoped. Shizune looked down, pulling her own picture out too. It had been with Sakura and Tsunade, while they were helping her learn advanced medical-ninjutsu._

"_What leads you to believe it wasn't just some random person?" Sai asked._

"_The day we had her funeral, I checked her apartment… the door had been locked. I never bothered to come in, seeing as it was disrespecting her property… and as we can see," Shizune said, pointing to Sakura's window, "this place wasn't vandalized whatsoever."_

_Sai stared at his picture, the sun gleaming. From the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something on the picture. Moving it, to direct the sun on a specific part of the picture, he could clearly make out… lips?_

"_Shizune, tell me my eyes deceive me but are those lips?" Sai asked, staring intently at the picture._

_Shizune went next to him, examining the picture as well._

"_I think… I think they are."_

**Chapter 4: Theories **

"Wait, so let me get this straight." Sasuke said, pacing back and forth in Ino's apartment. "You guys think Sakura's… _alive?!_" he said in disbelief. His friends had officially lost their sanity and should be put in an asylum.

"It's more of a possibility than an assumption." Sai said sipping the tea Ino had prepared for them all.

"And you guys don't think it's just some prankster who wants to play a cruel joke on us?" Sasuke said.

"Look at the clues, teme!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Okay, tell me the clues again, because I just think they're coincidences." Sasuke said.

"Her body was never found." Sai spoke first.

"Blown to bits by the suicidal jutsu." Sasuke rejected the theory.

"Her scent had been completely wiped off." Shizune said.

"We hadn't investigated until several days later, and it had rained the day before we searched for her scent." Sasuke said, rejecting that theory as well.

"Okay, we all found her items under or doors or on our mats." Ino said.

"Could have been a joke played by someone." Sasuke said.

"Her apartment showed no sign of being vandalized." Naruto said.

"Any ninja could have _teleported_ their way in there." Sasuke said. Every theory and clue they brought up, Sasuke quickly rejected as if swatting a pesky fly. And to make it worse, the possibilities he was shooting out made sense too.

"Sakura was loved and respected by everyone in the village." Ino said, glaring at Sasuke. "You think someone would stoop low enough to disrespect her and her property like that? To disrespect the dead is something no one is willing to do. Not even Naruto if he hated the person. Stating such a thing is an insult to her very being." Ino stated, her glare at Sasuke deepening with every passing second.

"It could have been someone from another country."

"Really?" Ino scoffed as soon as the words left his lips.

"You think someone is willing to travel to a different country all for a little prank?" Shizune asked.

"I don't know!" Sasuke exclaimed. "And that's the thing, none of us know! For all we know, it could have been me sleep walking because I've been tormented by Sakura's death!" Sasuke blurted out a random thought.

"You don't sleep walk, teme." Naruto said, pointing a finger at him with an unconvinced expression.

Sasuke thought desperately for an excuse. It wasn't that he didn't want to believe Sakura was alive, because he really did. But he was afraid… he was afraid to get his hopes up; of thinking Sakura was really alive, and then having his hopes burned to a crisp if they found clues that Sakura was really dead. Like her body, for starters.

"What if it was her spirit?" Naruto blurted out all of a sudden, after everyone had grown silent.

"What?" Shizune asked.

"Even that idea is absurd." Sai said, shaking his head at dickless' idiotic idea.

"Well think about it. Ino is able to let her soul wander, and even enter a person's body and control their mind. And, it is no secret Sakura had another being inside of her. Maybe when she died, that being was released and she sent the items to us." Naruto said, shrugging.

Everyone stayed quiet. "That might be one of the dumbest yet smartest ideas you have said all your life, Naruto." Ino said in amazement.

"Thanks," Naruto said with a grin. "I think…" he said seconds later, pondering on whether or not that was a compliment.

"Is that even possible?" Sasuke said, suddenly becoming interested in this theory.

Ino, who had been leaning on the kitchen counter, stood straight and sat down on small round table, in between Naruto and Shizune.

"Well I've certainly never heard of such a case, not only because that idea is somewhat absurd, but because only one in a million people are able to obtain another soul in their body." Ino said. "But, it is possible that once Sakura died, the other being was left without a vessel, so it wandered to the only place it knew to be home: Konoha. And maybe it felt compelled to give us some of the belongings we cherish, and could not obtain because it was in Sakura's apartment." Ino said, moving her hands around while explaining everything.

There was some more silence. "But then again, the whole idea of a spirit doing that is…" Ino trailed off.

"Unbelievable?" Sasuke suggested.

"Yes" Ino said, nodding. "Because technically, a soul can't do anything without a body, like my jutsu. I need a body to control in order for my jutsu to actually do some effect. And well, I don't suppose any of you remember entering Sakura's apartment in the middle of the night to deliver these items for us?" Ino said, eyeing everyone suspiciously.

"What if it wasn't us who moved the stuff, but some other random villager or ninja?" Naruto suggested, shrugging.

"But we must take in mind this… 'Other being'… had a mind of its own. We don't what it's capable of doing by itself. Maybe it didn't need to possess anyone to move on its own accord." Shizune said, noticing how it did, in a way make sense; in a crazed, insane way.

"That would explain why I thought I saw Sakura in the middle of the night before the object was dropped but… how do we know the spirit takes its shape like Sakura?"

"Well, maybe the spirit can shape itself, and it didn't know what else to morph into, because all its life it didn't know anyone _but _Sakura?" Sai said.

"And Ino, if you don't exclude that one time in the Chunin Exams." Naruto added.

"But wait," Ino said calmly, noticing something. "If this "spirit" or whatever we think it is, gave us items we cherish, to Sakura's most important people, why is it Tsunade, Hinata, or anyone else Sakura is close to didn't get items?" Ino rationalized.

"Well, for all we know, they did. We just don't know it yet." Naruto shrugged.

"No, they would be here by now if they did. It's not just a coincidence we met up at the same time. We would have all met up around the same time period, as we did." Sai said.

"Then maybe the spirit just gave it to her closest of friends?" Shizune suggested.

"No" Ino shook her head. "Because… Sasuke didn't get anything. We just met from sheer coincidence." Ino said, avoiding eye contact with Sasuke.

All eyes turned to Sasuke, who was now looking down in sadness. Why hadn't he gotten anything? Why had it been he hadn't even gotten a picture, or some sort of item from said spirit, if the possibility was correct?

"Maybe it just didn't have time?" Sai said, shrugging.

"Well, there is a possibility that just maybe; the soul couldn't live for too long without its vessel. And that soon enough, it would perish with Sakura's soul too. It just didn't have enough time." Ino said.

"Wait" Shizune said, pausing as she thought things through. "Our story has to be off." Shizune said. "This whole, "other being" theory… it can't possibly be." Shizune said.

"And why not? Everything seems to fit." Sai said.

"Because, we forgot to take in one important factor; _the time period_." Shizune explained. "Why would the spirit suddenly, out of nowhere, decide to give us all gifts, after _one month_ of her death? And tell me, why would a spirit need to unlock a door to get in, if they could have just gone through the wall?" Shizune asked.

The truth dawned on them, and Ino realized that when she had her hand on the door, she had pushed it open slightly.

"I saw you open the door Ino. And unless you didn't unlock it with a wire and pick, then it had been unlocked the night before." Shizune said.

"And now we're back to square one." Naruto sighed miserably. They were getting nowhere with this, what not with Sasuke rejecting the fact that Sakura was alive, and Shizune ruling out the assumption that it was Sakura's "other being".

"Well Ino? Did you indeed, use something to open the door?" Sasuke asked.

Ino stayed quiet, shaking her head, hesitantly.

_What on earth was going on here?_

* * *

"Thanks for the food." Sakura told the old chubby man, trying to sound polite. He just nodded fearfully, though he flashed her a tiny smile for her politeness.

"Where will I be staying?" Sakura asked, hoping for an answer from either Kisame or Konan.

"We have not yet prepared a room for you, so you'll have to sleep over at someone's room for tonight." Konan said, grabbing her fork and taking a bite from her lobster.

"You'll probably be sleeping over and having a pillow fight with Konan, sharing stupid girly secrets." Hidan mocked.

Sakura didn't even have time to glare at Hidan, for when she even looked at Hidan, a fork was being thrown his way. It stabbed him in the throat and he fell backwards, trying to remove the fork.

Kisame burst out laughing, with several of the people in the room chuckling. To say the least, the chef felt repulsed and seemed as if he were going to throw up.

"You may leave now." Sakura whispered to the man, who thanked her, bowed, and quickly left, not wanting to see any blood flying everywhere.

"I would have thought you've learned to not insult Konan by now, Hidan." Kisame said, sighing and shaking his head in a disapproving manner. "Such an imbecile you are, Hidan."

Hidan stood up, brushed himself off, and brutally yanked the fork out, throwing it on the floor. "You should be talking." He glared. "You look like a shark, you're brain is probably as big as one. Confusing people with seals." He snorted."You must be really a dumbass." He mocked.

"Actually, my previous studies with sharks actually concluded that sharks are quiet smart. They can remember shapes and patterns really well and can find their way through mazes if the occasion is ever brought up. They only confuse seals with humans because the shape we form in the water is similar to those of a seals. It is not a questionable mistake." Sakura said, and it got all quiet around her.

"… You studied _sharks _un?" Deidara asked, joining their conversation.

"Yeah, in my medical jutsu training. Amphibians are the easiest to heal because some have the natural ability to grow back their limbs if they ever need to." Sakura explained.

"That's so…" Hidan trailed off.

"Cool!" Kisame butted in, grinning like madly. "Believe it or not, I've never seen a shark up close." Kisame said, and Sakura laughed.

"They're pretty cool…" Sakura said.

"Has it ever bitten you?" Kisame asked.

"Nope" she said, recalling the event. She glanced at Hidan. "The shark was smart enough to know I was trying to help it, so it was friendly." She said, smirking in triumph when she saw Hidan glare at her.

Before Hidan could open his mouth and counter-argue the comment, Sakura cut him off. "Back to the subject, where will I be sleeping?" Sakura asked.

Kisame shrugged. "You can sleep in my room." Kisame said.

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"You're a nasty little kid." He chuckled. "I'll take the couch." He assured her, and she smiled.

"How thoughtful of you Kisame; thank you." She said in awe, giving him a sincere smile.

"I'm not the most experienced when it comes to caring about people, but I'm pretty sure the couch won't do your injuries any justice." He explained, shrugging.

"You're probably right about that but I don't want to make you uncomfortable in your own room." Sakura said hesitantly.

"It's okay, I'm a big boy." He grinned.

Sakura laughed lightly, not wanting to her herself too much. After all, the injury through her lung wasn't pretty.

"You guys don't have any kind of medic… at all?" Sakura asked, feeling herself short of breath.

Konan shook her head.

"Goodness, what kind of evil organization are you guys running?" Sakura growled. "You're all bound to get injured every now and then. What do you all do then?" Sakura asked.

"We suck it up and keep going on missions." Konan said.

"Hmm, nice motto, it fits." She said, half joking because really, an evil organization saying "aww, you got a booboo? Suck it up bitch!" sort of, made sense. Don't ask her why, it just did.

"What time is it?" Sakura asked.

"Around 4" Kisame replied.

"Really?" Sakura yawned. "And I'm already tired."

"Injuries do that to a person. I'll take you to my room so you can rest." Kisame said.

Sakura nodded as Kisame lifted her up with his arm, and carried her away. This giant could probably lift her with _2 fingers!_

Once Sakura was in Kisame's room, she brushed her teeth, and replaced the skirt and tights with some black sweat pants Konan had given her.

Cozy in Kisame's blue bed, she fell asleep almost instantly, only being woken up once when Kisame entered the room, and fell asleep on the couch. Sakura found it amusing; his feet were sticking out awkwardly.

* * *

"So, let me sum this up." Sasuke said, sighing. "We've been discussing this for over 4 hours, and we've come up with a few possibilities. "One, Sakura is alive. Two, its Sakura's other being. Three, its Sakura's spirit, which cannot rest without knowing we accept her crossing. Four, it's all just a prank." Sasuke said.

"Yup" Naruto said.

"Okay, who actually thinks its possibility number 1?" Ino asked.

Two hands shot up, one being Shizune, and the other, Sai.

"Who thinks its option 2?" Ino asked.

Her own hand was raised.

"I think it's either option 2 or option 3. They're mostly the same either way." Naruto shrugged, half raising his hand.

"And I'm guessing Sasuke still thinks it's a prankster playing cruel tricks on us." Ino rolled her eyes.

"But everything else is illogical!" Sasuke said.

"And why is that? "Naruto asked.

"Because!" Sasuke said, not knowing where to start.

"Explain to us how it is, because right now, we don't know what it could have been." Shizune said. "Even you know that the theory of it being a prankster is idiotic, because we all adored Sakura, be it as a sister, mother, lover, or friend." Shizune said, and Sasuke looked down hesitantly.

"Why would Sakura barely do this a month after, and why would she not show herself to us?!" Sasuke said.

"And why would the door be unlocked if it were a spirit! They'd just waltz right in!" Sasuke exclaimed. "A prankster could have picked the lock and forgot to lock it back up again, for all we know." Sasuke said.

"Well… maybe Sakura was very injured, and she didn't want us to see her that way. That's why she's not showing herself to us." Naruto guessed, shrugging.

"You don't think she would have healed herself by now? And why wouldn't she show herself? We'd all be able to help her. Tsunade and Shizune are very skilled medics." Ino said.

"And maybe the spirit wanted to fool us." Sai shrugged.

Sasuke groaned; he was getting nowhere with these people. It was like teaching a child the concept of potty training; if they weren't mentally ready, he'd get nowhere.

But no, theoretically speaking, it was Sasuke who was not mentally ready. He had been living this past month, thinking Sakura was dead… and now to suddenly say she was alive… it was absurd, in his opinion.

But to others, like Sai and Shizune, it was a hope. It was a hope that kept growing because really, they wanted to believe Sakura was alive, out there, somewhere. They had to keep believing, because they loved Sakura, as a daughter, and as a sister. There wasn't much of anything else they could possibly do, beside run around all the nations in search for her, and of course, Tsunade would never let them do that.

"I'm out of here." Sasuke stated, not able to sit in a room with a bunch of… _morons. _No offense to them, though.

"Wait Sas-" Ino pleaded but he was out the door before she could even say another word. She hated him when he acted boldly, and didn't rationalize with others. He never opened up to anyone at all; only Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi were exceptions.

"Don't mind him, Ino. He just-"

"I know" Ino cut Naruto off. "He just misses Sakura." Ino said, looking down sadly.

* * *

Sakura awoke with one number in mind.

_2_

Just two more days before she got her chakra back, and she'd be able to heal herself, and… well, do whatever the hell she wanted to do.

Now that she put more thought into it, what would she do after she healed them all? She had nowhere to go, if she were to be honest with herself.

The possibility of going back to Sound popped into her mind, but she wasn't so sure. She didn't want to be a burden to those people like she used to be before. But then again, this time, she would actually be able to pick up a spoon, so that might actually make a difference.

"Good morning sleeping beauty." Kisame joked, snapping her out of her train of thoughts.

"Mornin' sharky." She said. "What's for breakfast today?"

"Haven't you learned already? Anything you want." Kisame replied before locking himself in the bathroom.

After Kisame had finished up in the bathroom, she went in and did her daily routine while he waited for her. She kept the sweat pants on though, it was cold in here, and they were definitely much warmer than the tights and skirt.

"Still wearing your pajamas?" Sakura asked, seeing Kisame dressed in his black pajama pants and matching button up shirt, and it had water puddles on them.

"You'd be surprised how many people still have them on at this time of day." Kisame replied as she took his hand and they walked off, Sakura leaning on him most of the way there. She was feeling like walking today.

* * *

"Wow… you were right." Sakura said, eyeing everyone in the room.

Deidara had on clay colored pjs, saying "Art is a Bang!" all over in red letters. He probably paid someone to make them for him.

Tobi had on black ones with pictures of brown teddy bears… oh how gay indeed.

Kakuzu had some black ones with dollar bills everywhere, no shocker there.

Hidan was a dark gray hue, and it would have been the most normal she had seen so far, if it weren't for the fact it had blood stains all over, especially the pants. She didn't care if it was real blood, or fake blood; she still found it kind of disgusting.

Sasori's were similar to Hidan's, but they were black with red blood stains, except the blood stains were only on the shirt, and on the bottom part of the legs, and they looked like they belonged there; unlike Hidan's. His actually looked kind of cool, in Sakura's opinion.

Then there was Itachi, who had black sweat pants like hers, and a v-neck shirt with a fishnet shirt under that. Maybe he didn't like designable pjs… Sakura shrugged; she didn't really care.

"I told you. The oddest pjs here are probably Konan's and Itachi's." Kisame stated.

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"Because Itachi's is plain and well… Konan's is…" Kisame trailed off, trying to explain it. But, he didn't need to; Konan walked in not even a second too late.

"A night gown?" Sakura asked, surprised, staring at Konan, who for some reason looked fairly pissed off.

"Ahh, look who's coming in now. The princess." Hidan teased.

Konan glared a deadly glare. Sakura did too; making fun of night gowns was no joke… they were very comfortable, in her opinion.

"Shut the fuck up Hidan." It wasn't Konan who spoke up, but Sakura instead. Konan looked mildly shocked.

"Why? She looks like a fucken joke! We're Akatsuki, we don't wear night gowns." He stated, and she could see from the corner of her eyes Deidara nod slightly, Sasori smirk, and Itachi and Kakuzu just watch in interest.

"Well, in my opinion, you're outfit is more girly that Konan's." Sakura mocked.

"And why the fuck would that be?" Hidan growled.

"Look at it." Sakura mocked, pointing directly to the crotch area. "It looks like you period stained it all over." Sakura laughed.

……

……

……

Deidara and Kisame burst out laughing, while Sasori and Itachi settled with big smirks. Kakuzu and Konan had fairly impressed smiles and Tobi… well, you couldn't really tell… he seemed to be laughing though.

Hidan blushed furiously out of humiliation.

"If that's not girly, I don't know what is." Sakura continued, trying to settle her own laughter, it was starting to hurt. She looked at Konan, who seemed to be smiling gratefully at her; that was the first facial expression she had seen on Konan when they were around guys.

Sakura just kept adding fuel to the fire… "Are you sure you're a guy? I mean, you have long hair and everything too."

Hidan looked kind of pissed off now, she noticed. She didn't really care though. What could he do?

"That was nice." Kisame muttered, high-fiving Sakura.

Apparently, Hidan didn't like that… he charged after her ferociously.

Oh wait… he could do _a lot_… he was Akatsuki after all.

Sakura lifted her arms to her head in panic very rapidly, successfully opening up some type of wound, whether it be the one in her abdomen, or her lung, she didn't know. She didn't really care though, she thought; this second would be the end of her, after all.

Being only a few inches from Sakura's frail body, Hidan was abruptly stopped by not only Konan, but by Kisame, Itachi, and Deidara as well.

Hidan just growled even more, glaring at Sakura. He tried to jerk away from them all, but instead, Itachi kicked him harshly against the wall; harsh enough to break his skull. So obviously, he died for what could be the hundredth time his life.

"He'll be knocked out for at least half an hour." Kisame assured, staring back at the frozen in shock and fear Sakura, who could only gulp loudly, and nod hesitantly. Frankly, she wouldn't be that scared if she could only **move**. But she couldn't, so she was just as bad as a genin facing off against Akatsuki.

Maybe she wasn't as safe here as she previously thought she was… and to begin with, she already _knew _she wasn't safe… but still… she had thought she'd remain alive these next few days… if she didn't die from blood loss, that is.

"You're wound opened up again." Konan said, a tiny hint of worry in her voice.

"Did it?" Sakura asked almost robotically, obviously still in shock. She put her hands down to cover her abdomen, where it hurt, and when she looked at her hands, they were filled with blood. A lot of blood.

Damn… maybe the sudden movement had opened it more than it would usually have…

The voices around her became slurred, and her vision became blurry after what could have been a mere minute or two, maximum. Standing there limply, clutching her wound, the last thing she saw or felt were strong arms reaching after her… yet, they didn't exactly seem blue either. Funny, she thought, it was usually always Kisame to catch her in her time of need. With that thought behind her, she passed out.

* * *

"She'll be okay." a voice sounded worried, though quite positive.

_Where am I?_

"That's good. I'm sure Leader-sama will be upset to hear our medic almost died." An all too familiar voice said.

_Am I still alive?_

"…Hn"

_That sounds all too familiar too._

"Hidan is still in a rampage un. He obviously can't take a joke un."

…_Un?_

"We'll need to take turns watching both Hidan and Sakura, making sure he doesn't do anything reckless and kills her, or blows us all up."

_A woman's voice…?_

"I'll watch Hidan right now un."

_That's right… Akatsuki… my eyes feel too heavy to open them. I'll just lay here and listen._

Now fully regaining consciousness, and understanding she was definitely alive, Sakura tried to listen to what they were saying, whoever 'they' was.

"Right. Itachi, I trust you to keep a vigilant eye on her."

"Yes, Konan-san." The person Sakura believed was Itachi, replied.

"She hasn't eaten yet, has she?" Kisame asked.

Konan shook her head. "I'll go and prepare her some food right now. Kisame, do you mind disposing of the bloody towels and clothes?"

"I'll get right on it now." Kisame replied.

"Okay, let's let her rest." Konan said, and Sakura heard the door shut several seconds later. But, Itachi was obviously in the room still. He had been told to keep an eye on her, after all.

Sakura just lay there for about half an hour, feigning sleep. After that, she heard the door open, and she heard Konan come in.

"When she wakes have her drink this. It'll help her heal faster. It tastes rather horrid, but make sure she drinks it." Konan instructed.

"Hn"

"Have her eat her food afterwards, and the pain killers after she's all done with that. I'll have Kisame come by in an hour or so to pick up the food whether she's done or not. She might still be knocked out after all."

"Hn"

"I'll leave her to your care then, Itachi." Konan said once more, before Sakura could hear a clatter of trays, and the door shut once again.

More silence…

The silence went on for about 10 more minutes until Sakura heard what she thought was a book, shut close. "Kunoichi, I find it better you not feign sleep any longer." Itachi spoke monotonously.

Sakura merely hummed in the process, letting him know she was awake. "Too hard to do anything." She spoke bitterly, straining her voice.

"In that case, it would be in your best interest to take your medicine and eat your food." Itachi said, bringing the plate of food over to her, and putting it on a side table next to her bed.

Sakura peered through closed eyelids, trying to pinpoint his exact location. He was on a chair, not too far from the bed. Actually, just short of a foot.

Itachi grabbed a glass that was half filled with some white stuff. At first, Sakura thought it was milk but the texture seemed all wrong. "Drink it." Itachi ordered, handing it to her.

Sakura took it slowly and warily, bringing it to her lips. She took one whiff at it, and immediately crinkled her nose. "This smells horrid."

"I was told it would smell so; drink it." He said once again.

"No, if it tastes as bad as it smells, then I might just have to puke it out."

"Kunoichi, my patience is wearing thin. Drink it, unless you wish for me to forcefully shove it down your throat." He threatened calmly, his voice as smooth as ever. It caused shivers to go down her spine. It reminded her so much of…

Sasuke…

Her mood was immediately brought down, and it was obvious. She stayed quiet, while looking down at the blankets currently on top of her. Itachi still had his hand extended, and a glare formed on his face.

"Must we do this the hard way, Haruno-san?" he asked, his patience now gone. Itachi Uchiha really wasn't a patient man… he really wasn't.

Sakura gave him no reply, not willing to speak to him; it hurt too much. He just reminded her of Sasuke, and Sasuke brought memories of Naruto, who brought memories of Sai, who brought memories of Ino, who brought memories of Saki, and well, you get the point. No good memories came from staring and or speaking to Itachi.

She felt the weight of the bed shift, and she peered over her shoulder seeing Itachi glaring at her. "Don't make me feed you." He said, a small frown on his face.

"…I'm not drinking that." Sakura said reluctantly, because the thought of Itachi saying that not only sounded weird, but it also reminded her **a lot **of Sasuke, who had previously fed her when she had been sick, or unable to do so herself.

"My patience is wearing thin." He warned.

"Would you want to drink that?" she asked somewhat boldly, glancing at him for only a few seconds.

"That is a different matter." He interjected, not letting her change the subject.

"I can take that as a no, you know." Sakura said.

Before Sakura knew it, Itachi was grabbing her abdomen harshly, making her gasp in pain. What the hell was this man doing to her?! I mean, she knew she was in a base filled with psychotic serial killers, but wasn't she a _guest. _If this was how they treated guests, then she really didn't want to be here longer than needed to. With her gasp, her mouth was left wide open, and Itachi took this to his advantage, and brought the nasty liquid to her lips, pouring a little bit of it. Sakura coughed a bit, but she had no choice but to swallow it. She crinkled her nose in disgust once again, and tears at the corner of her eyes appeared.

"What the hell is that?!" she whined, glaring at the glass of… whatever it was, and then at Itachi.

Itachi gave her a look as if saying "you think I know?" and Sakura merely glared back at him once again.

"Half of it is almost gone; just drink the rest." Itachi instructed.

Sakura muttered a curse word under her breath, grabbing one hand and squeezing her nose shut. It was bad enough she had to drink it, so smelling it wasn't exactly something Sakura wanted to do too.

This time, Itachi was much gentler as he let Sakura sip the nasty liquid voluntarily. After she was done, she hurriedly drowned a glass of water, hoping to get rid of the nasty after taste in her mouth. After it was finally gone, Itachi gave her the food, which she gladly took with a thank you, and then ate. Soon afterwards, she took the pain killers, and just sat there staring at the roof for what seemed to be an eternity.

She really hated the awkward silence… and she wanted to break it, she really did… but… it felt like she couldn't. She wasn't used to awkward silences with Sasuke… and…

Sakura glanced at Itachi bitterly while he was reading his book in peace.

'_He looks so much like him…'_

She felt like she needed to talk to him, because maybe picturing him as Sasuke would help her feel better; help her feel at home a little. But… it would also make her go haywire. He had kissed Saki… why?

A small whimper might have slipped her mouth, she didn't know. She pulled the blankets up to her nose, wondering if it were possible to drown herself in them.

Sakura shifted a bit, hesitantly glancing at Itachi again. This time, their eyes met, and she immediately looked back up to the roof in fear… in fear of what, she wondered.

Was it in fear of his Sharingan? No. She had looked into one dozens of times before.

Fear of remembering Sasuke? No. That only brought sadness and anger.

Was it fear of Itachi over all? That was a definitely possibility, she thought bitterly.

She glanced at him once again, but this time she directed her eyes to his hands.

The hands that killed hundreds and thousands of lives, so tenderly and gently grabbed the book in his hand right now. It was hard to believe those hands had been the last thing many people had seen or felt. I mean, staring at them now, they looked like normal hands. There was nothing out of the ordinary or evil looking about them.

But that was just staring at his hands… that wasn't the most dangerous part of his body. It was his face… or more specifically, his eyes. It was those eyes that she had fallen in love with, and those eyes she had learned to trust. It's hard to believe how much a pair of eyes could change when they looked almost identical.

"Is something the matter?" Itachi cold, hard voice broke her away from her thoughts, and she just… flinched and gulped in response, fleeing back to the comfort of her blankets.

Sakura didn't respond at all, and after several minutes, she could still feel his eyes on her frail body. He could probably kill her with one pinky, if he wanted to right this second. And with another pinky, he could probably make her death torturous.

Boy was Sakura glad when Kisame came walking in.

"Look! Kitten's up." He joked.

Sakura merely nodded and blushed all at the same time.

"Can you move?"

Sakura shook her head.

"Did you finish your food?"

Sakura nodded.

"Do you want more?"

Sakura shook her head once again.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? You seem more like a mouse right now." He complained, half joking.

Sakura glanced at Itachi for a microsecond. Still staring… damn. Heck, it was like a cat got her tongue. And she really was feeling as meek and weak as a mouse, compared to a cat.

"Well, I'll get this out of the way. It probably hurts to talk, is all." Kisame said, picking up her dishes. Sakura opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She really wanted to tell him to stay… curse her mousy-ness.

"Konan said that Sasori will come by to watch her in about an hour."

Itachi nodded.

Kisame left, and Sakura could only hope Itachi forgot about his question.

_He didn't…_

"Hmm?" he said, as if waiting for the answer.

Sakura mentally groaned, peeking from the blanket and glancing over to Itachi.

"Any reason for your abnormal behavior?"

"There might be." Sakura responded blankly.

Itachi didn't question any further, she was glad to find out. It seemed unlike some people here, he knew how much was too far. Maybe it had something to do with his past… whatever, she really didn't care about that right now. She'd just be here for at most, 3 more days until she could either let them kill her, or she wandered this world alone, like a ghost.

And yet again, the thought of going back to Sound popped into her mind. It honestly wasn't such a bad idea. They loved her, and heck, now she wouldn't be a burden. On the contraire, really. She could start teaching the little ones about the ninja arts… and whoa, look how far she could go.

'_That's not such a bad idea.'_

* * *

The next day was rather action less, around the 5 Great Nations. Sakura mostly sat in bed all day, having Konan help her bathe and use the bathroom when necessary. Much to her great relieve, she only saw Itachi twice: once when he dropped off her food, and the second, when he picked it up.

In Konoha, no one went in any missions, for it seemed the Akatsuki wasn't on the move just yet. This seemed to unnerve Tsunade slightly. They had been on the move frequently… what had been stopping them now? Maybe they heard of Sakura's…… departure……

Around late afternoon that day, Sakura was able to feel the seal weaken, slowly but steadily. Her chakra filled her body and for once in what could have been a month and a half, her body felt warm and cozy with her chakra acting as a blanket.

By 12, even though she was knocked out, fast asleep, her chakra started entering her body slowly, and by 12:30, her chakra was back!

**(A/N: Okay, before I continue, let's all do a happy dance for Sakura, because she finally has her chakra back!! I've been hearing a lot in the reviews you're all pissed off at Saki –and so am I- but it'll be a while until Saki pays big time… :) Oh, and sorry I skipped a day of the unsealing… I couldn't think of anything exciting)**

So when early morning struck, about 7:30, everyone had been awake… why?

"**OHH MY FUCKEN GOD!!"**

Sakura's voice had erupted, and working everyone up, including a very shocked Tobi, who was thinking maybe Sakura was bleeding to death again.

Within a split 10 seconds, everyone was in her room, Konan ready to rip the blankets to shreds and tend to her open wounds, and kill Tobi for not noticing earlier.

"It's a fucken miracle!" she exclaimed, putting her hand up high in disbelief.

"You can move your hand un?" Deidara guessed. It would have been a big shocker anyway: Sakura could barely move after her wound opened up again.

Sakura's hand glowed green.

"Oh my god! Finally!" Kisame exclaimed.

"And look!" Sakura shouted, pulling the blankets off harshly.

Everyone had a ghastly expression on their faces; not because such fast movements could practically _kill _Sakura, but because most importantly, _there was nothing there._

"What the hell happened un?" Deidara asked.

"My chakra must have come sooner than expected, and I must have healed myself unconsciously while sleeping." Sakura exclaimed, examining herself all over. "And guess what, I don't feel like shit!" she exclaimed loudly, jumping up and down on the bed in joy.

Mind you, this was really something to be happy about. After not being able to heal yourself for over a month, and going through _excruciating _pain each day, this truly seemed like a miracle.

"That's great news kitten! Now heal my arm please." He deadpanned.

Sakura stopped jumping up and down in joy, and stared at him blankly for a few seconds. She then grinned madly at him and jumped on him, hugging him as if it were for dear life.

"Of course! I'll do anything for you guys! Anything! You guys practically saved my life!" she exclaimed.

She paused shortly, glaring at Hidan. "After you almost killed me."

Hidan merely chuckled.

"By the way…" she walked up to him slowly, and innocently. Everyone watched her curiously.

She flicked Hidan in the forehead with her middle finger.

Two seconds past and all of a sudden, Hidan was thrown against the wall, breaking it, and going through a few more before she heard the damage finally stop. "How's that for a tiny little pinky you bitch!" she shouted after him, hearing a growl of pain several seconds afterwards.

Before they asked her again, Sakura went up to Kisame, green chakra already flowing around her hand.

"Nice move." He snickered.

"Thanks sharky" she whispered, taking off his bandages and beginning to heal his arm. To say the least, most of it had healed by itself. She just needed to connect the tissue back again.

After she had healed Kisame, and things had settled down, a long silence erupted.

"So…… who's up for breakfast?"

"I sure am!"

And thus, the silence was broken, and they all scurried out of Sakura's room, totally forgetting about Hidan.

* * *

"Baa-chan! Can I get a mission _please_." Naruto whined for the hundredth time that hour. Sasuke was just staring out the window, with Saki in between the two, not sure whether she should flirt with Sasuke, or scold Naruto. Flirting with Sasuke it was.

"Fine! How's a damn B-ranked mission for you?!"

"A!" Naruto whined.

"Will it get you to shut up?!" Tsunade said, her anger rising dramatically.

"Yes!"

"Fine!" she shouted.

Tsunade sat there thinking for a moment. "Sasuke, pay attention know, it's very important." She said.

As if on cue, Sasuke stood up straight and paid attention… too bad Saki was too busy ogling at Sasuke.

"Recently Akatsuki has been spotted near Fire Country a lot… but since last week, or about 5 days ago, we haven't seen them at all." Tsunade explained. "I don't know whether they're preparing for another attack or they have a reason to retreat…"

"And you want us to investigate?" Sasuke summed up, sighing.

Tsunade nodded. "First you look all around the Fire Country. If you don't find anything there, send me a report, and head to Sound. They've been with no leader, and maybe Akatsuki will take that as an advantage. If you ever do find Akatsuki, retreat. If it's one, weigh your options, but don't do anything rash." Tsunade explained.

"Naruto"

Naruto's head snapped wide, as he stared at Tsunade.

"You're the captain."

"Are you serious Baa-chan?!" he exclaimed.

Tsunade nodded. "The decisions you make will go right to the information we'll look for when choosing the next Hokage, so make sure you choose wisely. Sasuke, you're next in charge. You leave tonight, dismissed." Tsunade said, not wanting to talk anymore. They left within a few minutes, not saying another word.

"Why'd you make Naruto the captain Tsunade?" Shizune spoke, from the corner of the room.

"You're getting better and better at sneaking up on me." Tsunade muttered.

"I'm not sneaking up on you… you've just been distracted." Shizune said, holding Ton-Ton close to her.

Tsunade looked down hesitantly, opening her drawer and pulling out a portrait of Shizune, Sakura, and herself, Sakura in the middle, Shizune on the right, and Tsunade on her left.

It had been taken for Sakura's sixteenth birthday. "I'm doing the right thing." Tsunade mumbled. "Sasuke's even worse than I am. He can't lead a group right now." She snorted robotically, her eyes going distant.

"What about Sai?" Shizune asked.

"He's locked himself in his apartment for a few days now. He won't come out." Tsunade responded.

"And Kakashi?"

"Drunk in his room, in denial."

"Who's the sane person around here?" Shizune mumbled.

"Saki's the only one who hasn't been the least bit affected, besides the old bags, Ibiki, and Anko." Tsunade said glumly.

"Ahh" Shizune muttered, mostly to herself as she stared out the window, some more rain clouds beginning to form. It would rain soon enough, she guessed.

**End of Chapter :)**

**Sorry I left it there people, but I'm out of ideas for what could happen this chapter…**

**I don't know why, but I feel like this chapter is the worst so far :-/ But, I guess you reviewers will be the ones to tell me whether you liked it or not…**

**And wow people… my reviews keep increasing with every chapter!! If I average it out, this chapter should get me about 100 reviews!!! In ****4 CHAPTERS!!! ****If I haven't died of happiness already, then I might just die tonight :P If I do get 100+ reviews, I might just have to bake you all cookies filled with love 33**

**Any and all feedback is much appreciated :)**


	5. Confrontation

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. I own nothing, but the plot, and this was made for pure fan enjoyment purposes :)**

Sai looked up at the sky, sighing as rain drops started to slowly fall. He wondered how his clone was doing. Just to avoid going on missions, he had put a clone in his apartment and pretended he didn't want to come out.

In truth, he had been too busy finishing his latest masterpiece. It was a pastel sketch of Sakura when she was her happiest: around all her friends and family. He had had that smiling face recorded into his mind ever since he had warmed up to Sakura.

Her smile was something strange too him… he never did understand how she was able to smile the way she did. Even when everything seemed to be going wrong, she smiled.

So, walking with some ink supplies in a bag on his right hand, he decided to take a detour… he went somewhere he should have gone days ago.

Sakura's apartment

After the whole debate with Shizune, Sasuke, Naruto, and Ino, no one had gone back to Sakura's apartment… strangely enough.

Opening the door to her apartment, he took his shoes off by the rug, and he walked into the kitchen. It still seemed somewhat clean and polished just like Sakura would always leave it: as if Sakura had never left them all… as if she were still here.

Putting his supplies on the kitchen bar table, he looked around sourly. Why was it this place still looked like it belonged? Like it should still be occupied by someone? Like it shouldn't be left empty… alone…

There were so many wonderful memories in here. Like Sai's first birthday party… when he turned sixteen. Sakura had probably been the first true friend he had made, because she had shown him the true meaning of kindness, and friendship, and let's not forget to mention she taught him what _emotions _were.

There was also the time when they threw Naruto a surprise party in here, and the time when they had all woken up on the floor, couch, or kitchen, after a big party. Well, most of everyone had woken up half naked… but that wasn't the point.

That day, he experienced what exactly a _hangover _was, and the wonders of sake and other alcoholic beverages. Sakura had taught him how to let loose and live a little, and not be so uptight all the time. Thus, the hangover, waking up with Naruto's ass directly in his face had taught him 2 very valuable lessons.

Learn to have fun every once in a while.

Don't pass out right next to Naruto after he had several servings of beans and fish.

Ahh yes… that had been one of the best, _and_ worst nights he had had in his lifetime. Though most prefer not to talk about the horrid night, they still found it quite amusing. Though no one was quiet sure _how _exactly they ended up half naked, they were pretty damn sure _nothing _had happened. And well, they were all friends, they all supposed, it was bound to happen eventually, what with Kakashi and Naruto always jacking Tsunade's secret stash of sake. And hey, it hadn't been like Sakura had never seen Naruto, Kakashi, Sai, or Sasuke half naked while on missions. There were actually several occurrences. And well, was there really much of a difference between bras and panties, and a 2 piece bathing suit?

Sai shook the thoughts out of his head. He was getting _waaay _of track now. He hadn't come here to think about the hangover.

But then again, he thought sourly, wiping his fingers on the kitchen table. He looked at his fingers which had a tiny layer of dust on them, and frowned.

'_Why did I come here?' _

* * *

"Soo…" Sakura trailed off, looking hesitantly across the room, where every Akatsuki member was currently either sitting or standing, watching her intently, besides Kakuzu, who had gone earlier that day to investigate something… they hadn't bothered to tell her what though. Or more specifically, they didn't want to tell her; they were avoiding answering it.

"What are we waiting for?" she tried breaking the silence.

"Kakuzu" Sasori dead-panned.

"I see…" Sakura trailed off once again, tapping her fingers on the table.

_5 Minutes Later_

"I believe I've done my job here… so can I please go, as you guys promised?" she asked sourly.

"Yes, in a few minutes." Pein, the leader, assured her.

A few minutes afterward, Pein's ring beeped. He made some hand signs, closing his eyes, and soon enough, a picture of Kakuzu appeared. It must have been similar to what Hidan and Kakuzu must have done previously, when they had barely found her.

"Well?" Pein asked impatiently.

Kakuzu merely nodded, a short pause following shortly behind. "Sakura Haruno is now off of the book." He assured, a part of him sounding somewhat angry. I mean, they just let go of 450,000 yen! "They do, indeed, believe she is dead." He continued, turning around so his body was directing it way towards Sakura.

"Hmm… making sure everyone truly thought I was dead." She contemplated. "Not a bad move." She said.

"After all," she continued, "I could have obviously been lying, and I would have been able to give Konoha valuable information." Sakura shrugged.

"And who's to say you won't return to Konoha with all your information?" Pein questioned. "You are perfectly healthy now, after all."

Sakura closed her eyes lightly, turning her head. "I wouldn't be caught dead in Konoha, _literally." _Sakura replied. "I mean, they don't even have my body, after all."

"So where are you headed now?" Konan asked, her voice not as cold as always.

Sakura opened her eyes slowly. "Part of me just wanted to wander around for a purpose, or just wait till a die…" Sakura said, staring at Konan, who seemed to be filled with sympathy. "But… I've been thinking… maybe I could just go to Sound." Sakura continued.

"Why Sound?" Kisame questioned.

Sakura shrugged. "There's a small village at the borders of Sound… they were the ones who found me and saved my life… They're the closest thing I have to a family." Sakura replied.

"Well," Kisame spoke up, "You could always stay here." He suggested, a tint of hope lacing his words.

Sakura shook her head. She waited a while, before speaking up. "Even though I no longer hold an alliance to Konoha, or any other village for that matter, I wouldn't be able to do the things you all do." She said solemnly.

"Sakura-chan could always stay as a medic." Tobi replied.

Sakura sighed miserably, shaking her head once more. "I wouldn't be able to handle the fact that I am helping to kill innocent lives like that…… I really wish I could stay… but I would only be a burden here if I refuse to help in the least; I apologize." She bowed slightly.

Konan shook her head. "You are of no burden to us, Sakura." Konan walked up to her, and straightened her out, making sure she was no longer bowing. "You are always welcome here… the time I have spent with you has been delightful." She assured, showing her a smile with her eyes; a type of smile only a girl could notice.

"Very well" Pein spoke up once again. "You may stay here as long as you wish to." Pein said.

"Thanks, but no thanks… I'll just collect my stuff and head out." She smiled bitterly. She turned to Kisame. "Would you mind walking me out?" she asked.

Kisame stayed quiet for a while, before showing her a grin. "Of course not kitten."

* * *

"So…" Kisame tried to start a conversation, glancing at Sakura, who was steadily jumping alongside him with black pants, a long fish net shirt that acted as gloves as well, with a black shirt above that which dived to show a small amount of cleavage, and her regular boots. Her hair was tied back into a short pony tail.

Kisame had on his regular cloak on, with his hat on his hand. When coming back, he didn't want to get caught in the rain.

Sakura looked up to stare at Kisame, and flashed him a smile. "Thanks for coming with me this far… you really should be heading back now." She said.

Kisame smiled. "Don't worry about it kitten. It won't kill me to run a few more miles with you." He assured her.

Sakura merely smiled at him once more, before she looked back to the road ahead.

The silence was comforting, to say the least, as Kisame and Sakura ran at a rather slow pace, compared to how they usually run. Sakura liked this about Kisame… he knew when he should be funny, serious, quiet, and what not. When he should run fast, average, or slow.

After about another mile or so, the trees ended, and it was just dirt. This sort of separated the land between Sound, and Leaf.

All of a sudden, Sakura stopped immediately, Kisame almost right on her trail. A flash of acknowledgement flashed through Sakura's eyes, Kisame noted. "Who are they?" Kisame asked. It seemed Sakura knew whoever they were. There were ninja, whose chakra weren't exactly hidden, Kisame noticed. Maybe they weren't exactly expecting anything or anyone in the middle of nowhere. After all, Sakura and Kisame had been running for almost an hour already.

"It's…" she almost didn't want to answer as she looked up at Kisame with pleading eyes.

He understood almost instantly.

* * *

"Sa-su-ke-kun!" Saki shouted in glee, trying to jump on him from above. He swiftly evaded her, jumping to the left and he rolled his eyes as she hit the tree. "That hurt Sasuke-kun! You're so mean!" she whined.

_God, _he thought. He remembered calling Sakura annoying before… but _this…this _was much, much worse than Sakura.

"You guys, focus." Naruto whined. "Let's just finish this mission so I can go get some ramen." He whined. That was the best he could do to get them focused… after all, they wouldn't really take him seriously.

"Naruto shut up!" Saki glared. "We're perfectly fine! There's not going to be _anybody _here in the middle of nowhere. This was a stupid mission." Saki retorted.

"Assumptions like those are the ones that get you killed." Sasuke replied, glaring at Saki for half a second.

Saki whimpered back lightly.

**(A/N: Before I continue, I wanted to say that most of you have been ****craving ****Saki blood so I have attempted to put that in here, as you will all soon find out.)**

Sasuke stopped abruptly all of a sudden, his Sharingan spinning violently.

Naruto stopped only about 2 seconds after he did, sensing the threat, while it took Saki several jumps later to stop… and she didn't even understand why they had too. "You guys… come on!" she whined loudly.

"Saki, keep it down! There's a strong chakra signature ahead of us." Naruto glared, trying to make her be quiet and not be mean all at the same time.

Saki immediately kept quiet and jumped back, in between Sasuke and Naruto, a hard look in her eyes, though it was filled with fear. She had never gone on dangerous missions such as these before… only once before… where luckily enough, she had managed to get rid of Sakura, even though she hadn't quite done it that good.

"Okay, listen up you guys, we have to plan this out. Sasuke, how many are there?" Naruto asked.

"2" he replied shortly after.

"Okay, here's the plan…"

* * *

"They're approaching us fast!" Sakura panicked, tightly hiding behind Kisame in panic. What would she do if they spotted her?!

"You can go around them." Kisame stated, but that possibility was quickly ruled out because they had spread out over the area, and they were far too close now. Only a mile away or so.

"We can turn back." Sakura decided.

"No… we'll be leading them straight to head quarters." Kisame ruled out that possibility.

"Well what am I supposed to do?!" she panicked, grabbing him tightly with a fist and lifting him up threateningly.

"Chillax kitten. Just put on a henge… we'll fight them, and they'll be forced to retreat.

"Hello?!! Does _Sharingan _mean anything to you?!" she glared.

"…Fuck"

They were now close enough that you would be able to see their outline. Without warning, Kisame pressed his hat on Sakura's head and threw her the coat, before they both jumped back, a fire ball going straight towards them. Sakura put on the hat first, and the coat afterwards. If they could see her womanly features, they would obviously be able to tell something was up.

"Keep that on!" Kisame whispered loudly before they were surrounded.

"Kisame Hoshigaki." Sasuke spoke, unsheathing his sword.

"But if that's Kisame… shouldn't that be…" Naruto trailed off, staring at the lone figure who stood there unscathed. Itachi seemed to have gotten shorter, in his opinion.

"Itachi" Sasuke growled, his Sharingan bright with fury.

'Itachi' said no response, in fear 'he' would be discovered. She turned, glancing at Kisame with fear.

Kisame merely nodded, getting into action and making several water dragons to keep them busy.

Both Sakura and Kisame ran towards each other, needing to make a plan while they fought the water dragons.

"Don't tell me that's the girl who fucked you up." Was the first thing Kisame said.

"Never mind that! I need to get away!" she panicked.

"We'll attack until they retreat."

"I can't possibly fight with one hand tied to my head. Besides, using my inhuman strength would surely give away who I am." She glared.

"We have no choice, don't worry, I'll do most of the fighting. In the meanwhile, try to find a way you can glue that hat to your skull."

They quickly separated once more when a Rasengan was thrown their way.

Kisame grabbed Naruto's wrist and kicked him harshly in the stomach, making the clone disperse.

Meanwhile, Sakura was just staring there frantically at Saki, Naruto, and Kisame, all the while trying to find a way to glue the hat to her skull, as Kisame had previously said.

'_Wait a second…' _she panicked, gulping with fear. _'Where's Sasuke!?' _

As she thought that, she saw Sasuke appear above her with a chidori. She jumped back harshly, hat on her head, before a big explosion was heard.

Dust and debris filled the air as all the rubble flew everywhere.

Sasuke was gasping harshly, his fist still on the ground as his eyes searched for Itachi. Just a few more seconds delay and he would have finally killed Itachi…

**(A/N: Haha yeah right)**

He didn't have much time to react as the dust harshly blew against him and wind blades went towards him. He made another fireball jutsu while jumping back and the wind blades dispersed, making the fireball even greater as it gushed towards the place the wind blades had been summoned.

From the other side of the debris, Sakura was half contemplating whether or not she should let the fireball hit her. She might as well be dead if she had to fight a real battle with Sasuke like this…

Finally having an idea pop into her head, she connected chakra to the hat and her skull, and tested it out, moving swiftly to her left, dodging the fireball.

The hat never left her head, thankfully.

After the debris settled, she managed to see Kisame and Naruto in full on combat with Saki just staring fearfully in the background. Her eyes turned hard in anger and she was so distracted she never saw Sasuke approach her and kick her straight on the stomach sending her flying.

She held back the scream that wanted to escape as she was sent flying. Much to her displeasure, Sasuke appeared behind her once more and sent her flying again, this time, he kicked her back. She could feel several bones breaking at the harshness of the kick, and she let some tears escape her.

"What's wrong Itachi? You're not willing to take off your hat and fight me for real?" she heard Sasuke's growl.

Sakura only bit her lip as the pain came. She let out a whimper, having been kicked once again.

Truth be told, she wasn't trying… even though Sasuke didn't love her anymore… even if Sasuke betrayed her… she couldn't find it in herself to fight against him.

She waited for yet another impact but she felt strong arms wrap around her frail, limp body.

"Kitten," she heard Kisame's low growl. "Don't let him hit you like that." he picked her up bridal style and jumped up high in the air, avoiding a fire dragon.

Sakura stared at the battle field beneath her sadly. "I can't… I can't fight him… I can't fight against them." she shook her head, looking up at Kisame so she could see her jade eyes, which were no red and puffy.

"Just hang in there for a while. You can't heal yourself yet… I'm sorry… that might blow your cover… but don't let them land blows on you… _please._" He pleaded.

Sakura felt a warm feeling at the pit of her stomach.

Kisame… he truly cared about what happened to her. It made her realize maybe she shouldn't give up on life… because maybe if she had lost everything, maybe if she was left with nothing, she had found a new friend… and she had found a new home too… whether it be in Sound, or in Akatsuki.

"I sent some back up with my ring… don't worry, we won't take the Jinchuuriki… but you can't let him kill you." Was the last thing Kisame said before they reached the floor and Kisame set her down.

Sakura flinched slightly, and sent chakra to her back, where she self-consciously healed the bone without using her hands. At least that way, they wouldn't see her heal herself.

Now, as she searched for Sasuke, she saw that Kisame was taking on both Naruto and Sasuke… was he a true friend or what?

This only left Saki available and I part of her felt great relief and excitement. Why?

Because Saki was the only one she didn't feel guilty about attacking. Because now, was her time to get back at her…. And oh, she would definitely enjoy this.

Running towards Saki, she was able to see her tremble with fear, and this only helped to increase Sakura's determination.

"I-I-Itachi U-U-Uchiha." She stuttered out, looking directly at her feet. She already knew the dangers of Itachi, and looking him directly in the eyes could most likely be, scratch that, _will _be the last thing she sees.

And for once, Sakura was grateful of how feared Itachi's name was. She already knew no one would try to look at her directly in the eyes, thus making them discover her jade eyes instead of the regular Sharingan ones.

But then again, Sakura thought…

Would it really be a bad thing if Sakura revealed to Saki who she was? After all, it wasn't like Saki would tell a soul; she was the reason Sakura was currently in this mess.

But then again, it wasn't like it would matter… Saki would die here and now, she hoped.

Sakura frowned slightly. Should she really be getting her revenge now of all times? Looking around at Sasuke and Naruto fighting Kisame, she noted that maybe killing Saki would cause the Kyuubi to go berserk, since it seemed Naruto had easily fallen for Saki's fake self.

And if it came down to the Kyuubi going out of control, she knew that Pein would take that as an advantage and capture Naruto… because she was sure Kisame had not told Pein that the _9-tailed-demon _was merely a 15-minute speedy run from here.

Sakura wanted to let out growl, but refrained from doing so, and focused her attention back on Saki, who seemed ready to pass out.

'_Might as well make this believable.' _Sakura thought with a smirk. She sent chakra to her voice and face, rearranging her facial appearance and her voice, so she sounded like Itachi.

"Scared?" she mocked.

Saki merely gulped in fear.

"I'll enjoy killing you… I hope you know that." Itachi's evil voice echoed throughout her head.

That was when Saki snapped out of it and realized… if she didn't at least try, _she would die here and now._

Sucking up her pride and swallowing her fear, she got into a fighting position, her hands glowing blue. _'One blow of this and he'll no longer be able to use his chakra.' _Saki thought.

'_Well… I believe that's the damn jutsu that almost killed me.' _Sakura glared. She knew one touch and she might be as good as dead once again. She would just need to play her cards right.

Saki tried using Taijutsu at first, trying to land at least one blow on Itachi. Itachi evaded all her attacks with ease though, and she could only frown at the lack of speed she had, compared to Itachi.

He suddenly disappeared from her view, and she could only feel she was dead.

Itachi appeared behind her, getting down on his knees and tripping her. Saki managed to get up fairly quickly and was able to hit Itachi was a chakra-infused fist. At first, Saki was immensely happy, proud, and relieved to see Itachi being blown away harshly. She wasn't that good, but even that blow should be able to make him unconscious.

What she _didn't _expect was for that Itachi to turn into ravens, and disperse.

"You won't defeat me that easily, foolish kunoichi."

Saki was sent flying backwards spiraling, until she landed face first into the ground, screaming in pain. Sakura only half smiled. The pain sounded like angels singing to her ears. She should have broken a few bones with that hit, considering she had sent a powerful amount of chakra into her system, to break her bones, instead of using it for inhuman strength. She had channeled her chakra to secretly seep into her system, and break the bones self-consciously.

With the blink of an eye, Sakura got ready to create the Fire Phoenix Jutsu. She supposed Itachi would only be caught using fire and electricity based jutsus, so she supposed she might as well do a good job being Itachi, not that she really cared.

Before the jutsu could actually burn Saki, she seemed to already be prepared for death. As it got closer and closer to her, she let out a loud, ear-piercing scream.

Sakura blinked, and the next second, Saki was gone, and in her place, a log. She looked around, finding Sasuke carrying Saki bridal style, and putting her gently to the floor.

"Are you okay Saki?" he asked, and Sakura wasn't sure if it was stern or worried tone she heard in his voice. It made her bubble up with anger, pain, confusion, and fear.

Anger because Sasuke had truly moved on.

Pain because it hurt to imagine he could forget about her, and all the memories they had shared so quickly.

Confusion, because she honestly couldn't understand what anyone would see in Saki… all she was, was a manipulative, evil, bitch, who didn't care if she had to hurt others in order to get what she wanted.

And lastly, Sakura felt fear well up inside of her… She was afraid… afraid she would truly be forgotten in Konoha… in all the lives of the friends she once cared so deeply about. She was afraid they would no longer visit her grave, and think about all of the deeds Sakura had done… and how she had saved many of their lives…

"Itachi… you have gone too far." Sasuke spoke up, standing up, and glaring at him.

Sakura merely looked to the side, where Kisame was currently too busy fighting off Naruto and his hundreds of clones.

"Have I?" her dark voice surprised Sasuke… he had never expected Itachi to respond him.

Sasuke glared ferociously at her, charging with such speed, that it would be invisible to the untrained eye.

Sakura stood there, fearless, and emotionless.

Now, Sakura had pictured hundreds of possible ways she could have died. But dying by the hands of her lover, had never exactly been an option she had ever considered.

Missing ninja? Yup, one of the first she had imagined.

On a mission? The most probable.

As an old lady alongside Naruto and Sasuke? The one she hoped for.

She had even been ready to be killed by the hands of Akatsuki, rogue ninja, and such.

Sakura had even imagined being killed by a disease she had gotten from a patient.

Being killed by poison, being killed by an animal attack, all of it, she had managed to think of. The idea of the Kyuubi in an enraged state had also popped into her mind… but no… never…

"Sasuke" she couldn't help but say sorrowfully, almost an inaudible whisper.

Even though she tried to tell herself over and over, deep down inside she had already lost hope. She had lost hope the day she had seen Sasuke kissing Saki… there was no way she could possibly live without Sasuke or Naruto alongside her… they had been together since they were just toddlers… at the mere age of 12 they already had a deep bond, a bond so deep in fact, the years had not yet caught up with them. How did she know? Simple… Sasuke had returned to her…

Glancing away from Sasuke for a second, and looking at Saki, who still seemed to be in fear for her life, she couldn't understand it at all.

How was it not even the death of his own clan, the secret of Naruto and the Kyuubi, and even Orochimaru couldn't keep them apart… but this meek, frail girl could possibly do the damage that had never been done before?

How could such a despicable girl cause enough damage to destroy a whole village? Such a great damage, that it seemed almost impossible? Team 7 had been closer than close, and some even thought they were like brothers and sisters; twins to be more precise… Because they always knew what each other was thinking, and they always seemed to know what could make each other feel better.

So why was it Saki had managed to destroy that perfect picture? The image that seemed almost unrealistic… a fantasy…

Maybe, Sakura thought… Maybe that was why she had been able to break it so easily. Because it had always _been _a fantasy… too perfect to actually be true.

"Today, you die Itachi!" Sasuke's voice in the background didn't even faze her, and she could only keep her eyes on Saki. A tear escaped an eye, as if that were the only thing that she was able to let go.

Because really, she was tired. She was tired of crying herself to sleep every day, and she was tired of having horrid nightmares about her team every night. She was tired of mourning and regretting the day she met Saki, and even Naruto, Sai, Sasuke, and Kakashi.

And, well… she was tired of regretting everything. Because everything she had done, she had done it for her friends, family, and for Konoha. Her life was in Konoha… so without it, what was she?

She was so sick and tired of it already… she didn't want to live a life with regret.

Even though she told herself she could always start a new life in Sound, could she really? She knew deep inside she had grown a necessity for her team… that was why not only was she so affected, but also why she had tried so hard to get back to her team.

And frankly, she couldn't take living with all of this regret. Closing her eyes momentarily, everything seemed to go slow. Sasuke was only a few meters away, ready to strike, and she couldn't help but feel relief inside of her… she no longer would have to deal with all of the pain she was carrying inside her heart.

Glancing at Saki for a few more seconds, her lips parted.

"I hate you… I _hate_ you _so _much." Sakura whispered, and Sasuke was close enough to have heard it. Itachi's voice seemed to be filled with so much hurt, pain, and anger… so much in fact, it didn't even seem to be real. His voice was so sad, if it were any other, untrained person, preferably not a ninja, they would have probably started crying at the seriousness of the voice.

Sasuke was literally almost taken aback by his words, and he almost felt the need to stop his attack in confusion. Why should Itachi hate him, of all people? Shouldn't it really be the other way around?

His anger flared once again. Itachi didn't deserve to hate… he didn't deserve to have emotions, or even live for that matter. He didn't deserve to walk this earth, and he definitely didn't deserve the deep love and respect Sasuke had had for him when they were younger.

Remembering those memories, Sasuke almost felt betrayed, and he too felt like muttering the same words, instead of fighting. '_I hate you… I hate you so much…' _the words rang in his head once again.

Something seemed to tell Sasuke those words weren't even directed for him, but someone else instead.

Even though he couldn't see any of Itachi's face at all, he could already imagine the horror in it. What would it feel like? He was about to die. Though a part of him wished to remember how Itachi looked like when he died, the other part of him didn't care. He had had this ambition for over 12 years, and a mere face expression wouldn't stop him from fulfilling his goal.

* * *

Sai frowned. He had been staring at Sakura's apartment for over an hour now… just standing, and staring… that was all. He had thought about Sakura's bedroom… but… he wasn't sure… maybe doing that wouldn't be respectful to her…

Sai sighed. Never before had it been hard to just barge into Sakura's apartment. He had done it several times a week, when he had nothing better to do, or when he was just in need of Sakura's guidance, or, her friendship and advice, as Sakura had told him to put it.

These things were still new to him, but Sakura had always repeatedly told him that entering without asking was rude… but… did this count too? He really just wanted to investigate… to see what exactly was going on here.

There were much too many theories about Sakura's… disappearance, you could say, and the gifts. He just wanted to be sure… he had this gut feeling deep, deep down inside of him… that Sakura was _alive…_maybe not well but…

Sai looked outside her window, the sun at its highest point.

'_I know you're out there…'_

-----

As Sai walked through the busy roads of the town, he unfortunately enough bumped into Shizune, of all people. He would surely get in trouble now.

"Sai? I thought you wouldn't leave your room." She glared.

"I ahh… went to visit Sakura's apartment…" he looked for an excuse.

"And the painting supplies?" she questioned, eyeing the bag in his hand.

"I wish to draw a portrait of Sakura, is all. Unfortunately, I ran out of supplies, so I had to go and restock." He explained.

Shizune sighed, shaking her head in dismay. "Cut the crap Sai, I wasn't born yesterday. You're just avoiding your duties as a shinobi." She sighed.

"Must you blame me?" Sai raised an eyebrow.

"You must be rather confused…" Shizune trailed off apathetically.

Sai stayed quiet, listening to what she had to say. "You've never seen a teammate go down in battle, have you? And to think it was Sakura too… you must be afraid to go on missions."

Sai stayed emotionless, though he did look down, somewhat guiltily.

"Things like these happen, and unfortunately, it was Sakura who had to go this time."

"She is still alive." Sai rejected, almost as soon as the words escaped her lips.

Shizune sighed. "We can only hope… but for now, we must hope you don't lose anymore teammates."

Sai gave her a questioning look.

"Naruto, Sasuke, and Saki went on a mission without you… to scout around Leaf and Sound for Akatsuki movements… there was more than a 70% chance they would interact with at least one Akatsuki member…" Shizune looked down in pity.

"…Ahh" Sai said solemnly, looking up at the sky, the all he could see was dark looking clouds.

* * *

Sakura's eyes widened, and blood splattered everywhere. She felt pain near her chest. She looked down a fraction of an inch, seeing a chidori… but…

_Why was there another hand there?_

Without any warning, the chidori fell apart, turning into nothing but static, and it was pulled back harshly.

All Sakura heard was grunts of pain –though she didn't know if it was her own or someone else's- and she felt immediately relief when the hand was pulled away. A few seconds sooner, and she would have a chidori through her chest, right over her heart. But, luckily enough, it had barely entered her, even though the pain was still immense.

She was only half surprised to see herself alive… after all, it seemed an unknown will was driving her to _stay alive, _whether she wanted to or not.

But, what did shock her, was that right in front of her, was Itachi.

And yes, it was Sasuke growling in pain, ad confusion, as she now noticed.

"What the hell?" Naruto questioned, separating from Kisame. This was not good… it was now 3v3… they couldn't take the Akatsuki on now…

Sakura felt a bit dizzy, but shook it away, press a hand to her wound, trying to stop the bleeding, though she honestly just paid attention to the man in front of her.

"Itachi… you…" she whispered, her voice now as feminine as it always was, now that Sasuke was several meters away from her.

Itachi merely glanced back, grunting a tiny bit, before facing the front once again.

Kisame jumped next to them seconds later.

"You okay kitten?" Kisame whispered.

Sakura nodded, but she just couldn't keep her eyes away from Itachi… why had he saved her? He had really only come here to help Kisame out… so why hadn't he let her die? Like she so deeply _wanted _to?

Sakura put her hand under the coat, healing her injury before they started taking in the situation. It didn't matter… she would need to leave now.

Sakura look at Kisame, and she couldn't help but frown, and smile. She couldn't believe Kisame would go this far just to help her out… but she was sad… this would surely be the last time she would see him, wouldn't it? "Kisame… I have to get away." she said.

Kisame nodded. "Don't worry… they'll be too busy fighting us off, they won't even see you slip away. You can keep the coat and the hat… a little memory of your stay here, I suppose." Kisame grinned.

"Though it is much too big, it might help be stay warm at night… I appreciate it." She smiled kindly at him. She couldn't help it, as she went up to him and hugged him. It wasn't a big hug, but Sakura hoped it was enough to express to Kisame how much she was grateful for everything he did for her.

After she let go, she stared at Itachi. She didn't know much about him, and the experience she had with him, wasn't exactly what one would call _pleasant _either… but nevertheless, he _did _save her live so… it had to count for something.

Sakura went up to him, and bowed. "Thank you for saving my life, Itachi-san. I am in your debt, remember that. I am very grateful, and I thank you." she got up, waiting for him to reply.

He gave her an odd look, before nodding. "You better leave." Itachi said, and Sakura noticed Sasuke was charging again. This time, luckily, it wasn't towards her though. Sakura nodded, jumping back, before she started running.

Naruto made a move to stop her, but Kisame blocked him with his Sameheda. Sakura paused shortly.

'_You promised me he'd be alright, Kisame.' _Sakura thought, frowning, before she ran again.

Honestly, she didn't know why she still cared for Naruto… even when it was completely obvious he no longer cared. Maybe it was because Naruto had saved her hundreds of times before…

Yes, Sakura was forever in Naruto's debt, and risking her life a hundred times over would never be enough to repay Naruto for his act of kindness and bravery towards her.

Though she hated to admit it, Naruto was the only bond she honestly _could not _break. They had been together far too long, longer than she and Sasuke, and it was one of those bonds made by diamond; it could not be destroyed.

'_But I guess… even diamonds get dull if not polished.'_

* * *

After running non-stop for about 30 minutes, Sakura let her pace decrease, until she was just running a bit below average. She finally decided to take of the hat, and she tucked in the cloak into her bag. She didn't need to be alerting ninja about Akatsuki nearby, when it was only a harmless ghost.

Sakura kept running, only stopping once at a small town. She had transformed, making her hair as black as coal, and her eyes a light brown. Sakura noted she had not eaten for quite a while, and she should probably do so.

Going through all of this drama, heart break, and hurt, really did make Sakura lose her appetite. But being a medic, she would not let herself go a day without eating proper food… it was very unhealthy, and she still had a ways to go to get to Sound. If she remembered the correct direction, she would need over 150 miles North East.

Sakura would most likely get there tomorrow afternoon.

Entering the shop, Sakura got many odd looks. They must not be so used to new faces.

Sakura made her way to the very back of the shop, sliding herself into a lone booth, away from everyone. She slipped her bag off her back, placing it right next to her. A woman about her age with black hair and green eyes went up to her, a small notebook in hand.

"Hello, welcome, what may I start you off with?" the waitress asked, placing a menu by her hand.

Sakura looked up. "Green Tea please." Sakura said.

The waitress nodded, and left shortly after, and Sakura was left to look at the menu. They didn't have much, to be honest. It must have just been a snack place.

The girl came back with her tea, and placed it on the table with a straw.

"May I take your order?"

"Can I have a plate of dango please?" Sakura asked.

The waitress nodded, taking Sakura's menu and leaving. The dango would only be enough to make sure she got enough nutrients for the day… _barely._

3 small sticks of dango wouldn't seriously do much, besides fill her up with calories to burn, and give her enough energy to run for the rest of the night.

Her order had been done soon enough, and Sakura ate slowly and steadily, wanting to savor the only bit of food she would have.

'_Dango… huh?' _she thought, staring at the small round green ball, before sticking the sweet goodness inside her mouth.

If she was correct, every day for dinner Itachi would always ask for a small plate of dango. Almost as if he liked dango…

This thought almost made Sakura laugh bitterly on the inside. _'Itachi, actually like something? Ha… when pigs fly.' _She thought. Though she really found it impossible for Itachi to actually like something, she knew he had to have his likes and dislikes, even if they were almost unnoticeable, even to the trained eye.

Sakura wished to be more like Itachi, to be truthful. He seemed to be so ruthless, and he was strong, and intelligent. If she thought about it, he really had a good reason to not get close to anyone.

'_Break your ties before your ties break you…' _the thought lingered in her head.

Maybe that was why showing emotions was considered a weakness in the shinobi world.

Maybe Itachi closed himself off purposely, to make himself the ideal Shinobi, because without showing the weakness of emotions, he would truly seem flawless and perfect. But…

Was there such thing as a perfect shinobi?

Almost every aspect of Itachi seemed to scream yes, yes there was. But even Sakura knew that wasn't possible.

Every shinobi had a weakness, even people like Sai, Kakashi, and Sasuke, who she had thought were the most powerful of Konoha, which _seemed _to be perfect.

Sai always did have a weakness when it came to his brother, Sakura had noted over the years.

And even Kakashi, had a big weakness when it came to his ties with his now deceased teammates.

And Sasuke… well, she had reason to believe his weakness was her… but after everything that had recently happened, she just couldn't tell anymore. But she also had a feeling Itachi was somewhat of a weakness to him. Because whenever spoke of him, Sasuke would get aggressive, and angry… so angry in fact, he would lose sight of things that were important, and he would become distracted…

Thinking back now, she noted all of them had their own weakness. What was her weakness, she thought briefly. But the answer hit her head on.

Her weakness was her friends and family, that much was clear. Look at her now: she was a big wreck all because she had been affected by the people she had long since believed was her family.

Relating her past experience to Itachi, she came to understand that Itachi had a good reason for being as cold and emotionless as he was. In order to not get hurt he made sure there was absolutely _no one _to hurt him, because filling that vulnerable spot, covered a big portion of your weakness. So initially, he did kill his clan. But was that maybe why he killed his clan long ago? To burn and bury all ties, and fill in whatever weakness an enemy could find? Who would have known friends and family could be so dangerous…

Too bad Sakura had never thought her friends and family would be her weakness.

She had always previously thought they were her strength, and her inspiration. Because it was because of them she had tried so hard, and trained to sharpen her skills as a ninja.

Maybe being like Itachi wasn't such a bad idea, Sakura thought, staring at her last stick of dango.

Sakura was all alone in this world now, and because of that, she now needed to learn how to fend for herself all over again, but this time, she had no help from anyone else.

Sakura was now alone in this world, and she could not do anything about it. She almost felt like the little child she used to be, until Ino found her and helped her up.

Had Ino's friendship all been illusive throughout their long years of knowing each other?

But now the question was, who would take Ino's role and help Sakura back on her feet? And most importantly, would that person do the same thing Ino had done to her, and back stab her when Sakura least expected it?

Sakura shivered at the memory, taking a sip of her tea. She didn't want to think of her betrayal of all things. Even thinking about _Itachi_ was better than that, she told herself.

But then again, thinking about Itachi made her feel… odd. Never in a million years had she thought she'd be forced to be saved by Itachi, or have similarities with him.

Sakura ate the last of her dango and gulped the remaining tea down her throat, throwing some money on the table, and exiting fairly quickly, going back to running.

'_He had no friends and family, and now, neither do I.'_

**End of Chapter**

**I think this chapter was a little shorter than the other ones… oh well, it's long enough I guess. X) **

**Hm… what to say… oh yes, I think you guys topped the reviews again! X) 35 reviews, if I counted correct… **

**Oh, and I deeply apologize for not updating any sooner! I finally got my bro to fix it, so I'm updating all my finished chaps today! Sorry if you see any errors… I only checked it one or so… didn't want to make it any more late.**

**Oh, and since I've had a long time, the next chap to this is almost done!! I took a reviewers advice and pre-wrote it ;) just because I love all you reviewers and readers, and I had such a brain blast! Expect the next update my next week!**

**Any and all feedback is much appreciated!**

**-Marzy-chan~~! :))**


	6. Mission

**Hi everyone~~! **

**Here i am with another chapter up! I hope I didn't take too long in updating the next chappie :O **

**Anyway, I don't think this chapter had too much of Sakura, for it mostly centered around Saki, Sasuke, and Naruto and everything that happened after they got back to Konoha. The next few chapters may be like that for the most part, besides the next one, still haven't decided.**

**And since Sakura is now officially away from the Akatsuki, they won't be appearing for a while, just so that this fic looks a little bit realistic and it doesn't seem Sakura is obsessed with the Akatsuki and wants to return immediately X) I didn't plan this fic to turn in to one of those :O So, I think this is the last we here of any Akatsuki member for the next few chapters, but don't worry, they'll be back.... they have to be..... after all, this is Itachi x Sakura, right? X)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto! I take no rights, and i only own plot :D**

**Chapter 6: Mission**

"Who was that?" Sasuke asked, reffering to the previous figure who had managed to gotten away. He could not believe he had confused that person for _Itachi, _of all people. He should have known better, seriously. Itachi would have had him in a genjutsu the moment he laid eyes on his cloak, or maybe even before that. Not to mention the figure did seem much shorter than Itachi too. Damn was he blind or what? Or maybe he was just naive; Sasuke wouldn't dare remind himself maybe Itachi had been right all this time about calling him 'foolish'.

"Whoever that person was does not concern you." Itachi responded stoicly, a katana piercing through his right shoulder, before he disappeared in a flock of black crows.

"It does, actually. He might be another Akatsuki member, or a spy." Sasuke responded, using his katana to deflect hundreds of thousands of kunai being thrown his way, his Sharingan eyes ablaze with anger.

"How do you know it's a he?" Kisame grinned.

"Kisame" Itachi gave him a silent warning.

"Ahh, so it's a she." Sasuke confirmed. He knew he would never be able to get any information out of Itachi, but Kisame wasn't exactly that smart. Fooling Kisame was the best shot he had, truthfully.

Kisame shrugged. "So what if she is a girl?"

"Who is she?" Naruto asked. "She tried to keep her identity a mystery because she kept her hat on the whole time. There must be something she doesn't want us to know." Naruto added.

"It doesn't concern you who she is." Kisame retorted. "It's none of your bussiness."

_'Not after that Saki girl faked her death anyway.' _Kisame frowned, and the mere thought of it made him send ferocious water dragons towards her. She screamed hysterically, and Naruto got her out of harm's way in the nick of time.

"Why aim for Saki? She's not even attacking." Naruto asked, putting her down gently.

"I don't particularly like this girl all too much." Kisame stated truthfully, and Itachi gave him an almost untracable warning look. "Her screaming is giving me an ear-ache. And what the hell is she doing on a mission you were un-doubtedly going to face off against Akatsuki?" Kisame scoffed. "She can't even get out of the way from a simple water dragon."

Saki had been seriously considering maybe flipping him off, or sending a few curse words his way, but the fact that he was a dangerous S-Class criminal refrained her from doing so. He already didn't like her, and frankly, she didn't need him out to get her either, though she seriously doubted that would happen. She hadn't even spoken one word to this man.

Minutes seemed like hours as they fought against each other, Saki just watching in the background. After a total of about 20 minutes, it was obvious who would come out victorious. Naruto was already pushed past his limits, and Sasuke was falling fast. Within another minute, Sasuke was knocked down once again, but this time he no longer felt the strength to get up.

"Leave before we decide to capture the Jinchuuriki." Itachi said stoicly.

Sasuke merely glared at Itachi. He really, _really _hated himself right now. He couldn't even defeat Itachi for God's sake. "No! Come back and fight me Itachi!" Sasuke growled, trying to get up. Saki came to his aid, trying to help him up but he so rudely shoved her off. "I don't need your help." he said harshly, not caring if the words stung her like a bee. It probably hurt Sakura 100 times worse anyway.

"You think you can defeat me in your curren state?" Itachi asked.

"No" he replied almost hesitant. _'But if I can't defeat you, or live with the love of my life, I don't see the point in living.'_ Sasuke thought harshly, mostly directing the anger towards himself. Sasuke had this look in his eyes... one filled with refget, and hurt, as if recalling something... _or someone._

And interested glance was seen directed to Kisame, who glanced at Itachi with a glance which could have held much more interest. "You've become distracted." Itachi's voice seemed to echoe in his head. "That woman has made you weak, and unfocused from your true purpose."

"How do you know she died?" he asked, confused about how they could have possibly known about Sakura's death, let alone concluded he was hurt by it. He didn't even know Akatsuki _knew _he had a girlfriend.

"How we know doesn't really matter, but we are Akatsuki, we find things out rather fast." Kisame tried to cover up for Itachi's small mistake. Maybe something about this particular subject made him slightly uneasy, or just simply distracted, because let's face it, Itachi _never _messed up. In truth, no one really did find out Sakura Haruno had died. Even the man wanting her head for such a high-price didn't know. Konoha must have kept a low profile about it. It was a possibility they didn't want neighboring countries -or enemy countries more specifically- to know their best medic-nin and strongest kunoichi had vanished.

"But that's not really the issue; she has distracted you." Kisame continued.

"You haven't gone in search for me in years; she must have obviously kept you busy -distracted." Itachi mused.

"No" Sasuke glared. "I was training to get stronger. She isn't important enough to draw me away from you. _Hardly_ important." Sasuke glared. From the sidelines, Saki seemed to spark with glee and Naruto seemed flabbergasted Sasuke had actually said that.

Truth be told, Itachi was right. He had become distracted, for Sakura's non-violent ways had somewhat rubbed off on him. She made him think that if he was able to reconstruct his clan that would be enough, and the need to kill Itachi could be overlooked.

But Itachi was here, _in front of him_, and he felt weak. Never before had he cared for someone, and that was why even as a Genin he thought he could kill Itachi, because he had done _exactly _what Itachi had told him. But what would happen if he said the truth, and said that yes, he had fallen in love, what would Itachi think? He really shouldn't give a damn about whatever he thought, but Itachi would always remain his big brother, and even the need to impress Itachi (whether it be with his strength, or his will power to kill him) was still pulsing through his veins.

If Itachi ever showed disappointment in him, it showed he had done something wrong, or he had failed. And frankly, he had failed too much for far too long...

Kisame and Itachi looked at each other; Kisame looked shocked, and even Itachi seemed to take the information it somewhat oddly. Itachi hardly knew Sakura, but he knew Sakura was a kind soul, far too innocent to have something like this happen to her. That only happened to horrible people... people like himself, and hey, look, it already _did _happen to him, when he had been 7 years younger than Sakura herself.

Kisame and Itachi hadn't believed their ears for several moments. Sakura had _actually_ _been_ _telling the truth. _Kisame honestly found it hard to find out someone could actually hurt her that much, and that her previous friends and family had pronounced they no longer cared for her, and they seemed to have erased her from their memory.

"Well then, you obviously haven't been training hard enough." Itachi's cold voice spoke. "You're still weak" the phrase seemed to echo in Sasuke's head, flashbacks going through his mind about the time he used to always call _Sakura _that. Regret filled his body. He had never fully known how those words hurt... now, he somewhat did. But then again, he wasn't the one being rejected by the love of his life.

"Kisame... let's go." Itachi said as they turned around and disappaered in puffs of smoke.

The new Team 7 was left there, hurt, dumbfounded, and for Saki, scared and humiliated.

_...Why had Akatsuki just let them go?_

"You think kitten got away?" Kisame asked, appearing in the kitchen alongside Itachi.

"If by 'kitten' you are refering to Haruno, then yes. She had plenty of time to make her escape safely." Itachi replied, going to the kitchen to pour himself some water.

"Geez... no need to be so uptight, just worrying for her is all." Kisame grumbled.

"Hn. You're lucky I arrived when I did." Itachi said monotonously.

"Yes, you're right." Kisame sighed. Itachi looked up in curiosity. Kisame would never admit defeat or ask for help. "Kitten was about to crack. Even though they harbor no feelings for her, it doesn't mean she doesn't. She was trying to kill herself out there, I tell you." Kisame frowned.

"Ah. That was when I interfered, was it not?"

"Yeah... she told me she couldn't find it within herself to fight the people she had cared for, for such a long time."

"She's too emotional." Itachi frowned an uninterested and unpleased frown.

"Don't forget it was those emotions that kept her alive this past month." Kisame noted. "She has a lot of devotion to friends." Kisame said quietly.

Itachi pondered his last statement for a while. "Maybe we can get some," Itachi paused, as if searching for the right words for a moment before continuing. "interest, from her devotion." Itachi thought out loud, mostly to himself.

"I think after seeing their faces, she doesn't treasure life that much."

"As she shouldn't. Life is not a blessing. It is a mission you must fullfill."

Kisame rolled his eyes. "I've never heard someone think of life as a mission. I've heard a gift, adventure, blessing, curse, but never a mission." Kisame chuckled.

"You either succeed, or fail. You choose how you finish." Itachi turned around to leave.

"And how is your mission ending?" Kisame asked Itachi. "What path did you take?" he said after a few seconds.

Itachi paused shortly, turning his head slightly to barely have eye contact with Kisame. "You tell me" Itachi left with no more words. In truth, he didn't want to tell Kisame his true opinion about his life.

* * *

Sakura jumped off the tree stealthily, hiding her chakra and stuffing herself in a bush. She stayed deadly silent as she heard nearby ninja pass by her. She didn't dare move until she knew they were a safe distance away. After all, she didn't need any Konoha ninja finding someone posed dead.

Hopping back on to the trees and continuing her journey, she tried to not pay too much attention to Konoha. Yes, she could see it from a distace. She didn't exactly know how to get back to the village she had previously been in, so she had to retrace her footsteps.

Besides, Sakura thought, since she was now fully recovered, it would not be as hard to get there. She wouldn't freeze from hypothermia, and she wouldn't amost get killed by unexperienced bandits, or get attacked by wolves, or get stuck in a hole...

Sakura shivered at the thought of re-experiencing all that all over again. Sakura had done all that for what? To get blown off and rejected, and backstabbed even?

Thinkng back, it was hardly worth her time, effort, and endurance.

Sakura ignored it, realizing she would feel like creating a large crater, and instead started calculating the time until she reached the village. It was already dark out, and she would need to camp out any time soon. Thing was, she didn't want to sleep on Leaf Village land, so she had to at least pass the border of Sound and Leaf for her to know it was a safe zone. After all, what would Leaf be doing in Sound territory?

Without Orochimaru, Sound had officially been marked as a place of no importance, that harbored no real threat, besides the occasional bandit. After all, Sound was now completely lost, and it was crumbling without a strong leader to help it stay together. So initially, if there was no need to be in Sound, why would any ninja who could possibly identify her as Sakura Haruno be over there?

It was around 10:00 at night when Sakura approached the river she had washed herself in about a week ago. She decided she would camp there. Sakura quickly pulled the cloak on, finding the temperature dropping to chilly degrees. She then got some wood, and quickly made a small fire next to the boulder she was leaning on. Sakura was just staring at the small sparks of fire.

Fire...

It reminded her of the Fire Country, which only reminded her of Konoha, and well, you get the point. The Will of Fire...

Sakura sighed. Was it really as marvelous as people thought it to be? Fire was destructive, and burned everyone and everything in its wake, leaving nothing but ashes... And all fire came to an end eventually, dying off slowly...

Sakura closed her eyes. She didn't need to be reminded of death, and everything she thought she found in Konoha, such as friends, family, a home, a shelter, and even comfort. Instead, Sakura tried to think of something else in her life. Something that hadn't completely failed her...

But the more she thought about it, she realized Konoha had been her _everything. _And it had been the _only _thing that failed her too... And only this past week had proven to let something else enter in her life, no matter how untrusted and dangerous the name was.

Akatsuki

Akatsuki, the place that had taken her in and she had found comfort in, and even friends... no matter how dangerous, untrustworthy, and conniving they were, they had showed her kindness, for the most part anyway. Even though she and Hidan had ended off with relatively bad terms, she wouldn't say that she hated his guts, and she was sure he didn't either...

Though a part of her felt that place had been more of a home than Sound, she knew she could not stay in Akatsuki. What would she do, knowing she was betraying Gaara, and Naruto, and basically going towards the destruction of the world? Though Sakura enjoyed being in Akatsuki, she didn't think of herself as evil enough to know she was causing the end of the peace in the world.

Sound was a much better place for her...

There were normal people there, who went on with their daily lives, and did _not _wish for the end of the world. The most they probably wished for was more wealth and good crops for the winter.

And hey, if she really put some thought in to it, _they would need her._ It would only be a matter of time before chaos reached their small little farming village, and what them? They had no fighters, and they _definitely _did not have enough money to hire shinobi and drive the bandits out, if they ever needed to. And though Sakura wasn't as skilled as Kisame and Itachi, _Sakura was good. _She hadn't been trained under the fifth Hokage for nothing, after all. She'd definitely be able to drive bandits away from there, and even shinobi. Because let's face it, after Orochimaru died, the village fell and she was sure no one was teaching people how to be decent ninja anymore. The worst problem she would probably have would be some Chunin, and at most, some pesky Jounin, but even they wouldn't compare to Sakura's super inhuman, strong, ANBU self.

Yeah, her logic made sense.

Sakura sighed before sleep finally took over, and she fell into a light slumber. After all, she could never be so sure when she was in the middle of nowhere, and alone.

A howl emitted from deep inside the forest.

_Her point exactly_

* * *

It was around 5:30 in the morning when Sakura got up, albeit groggily. She hadn't exactly gotten the best of sleep, considering the cloak wasn't exactly a cozy bed, the rock wasn't exactly a comfortable pillow, the howling wolves weren't the soothing purr cats always made outside her apartment window, the chilly wind wasn't the warm heater that would always go on in the middle of the night, and the snow wasn't the water she woke herself up with every morning.

Yeah, there had been _a lot _of issues with her sleep last night, and that was probably an understatement. Though the cloak hadn't exactly been a comfortable, cozy bed, she still had to admit she was down right thankful for it. How would she have slept _without _the cloak? She might as well have frozen to death, or become a snowman.

Trying to get up, Sakura had to shove several layers of snow off of the cloak to be able to get up. Going to the lake and planning to wash her face, she found it now, _frozen. _Just peachy!

_'But...' _Sakura frowned, staring at the snow.

Sakura stretched her joints while yawning. First thing first, she had to try and get some form of food in her system, no matter how satisfied she felt. Her lack of hunger would probably lead her to anarexia and bellimia if it didn't stop soon. Maybe her depression had something to do with the fact she was all alone now. She had never been all alone, ever since she had met Ino. Ever since then, it had always been smooth sailing, no matter how hard she told herself otherwise back in the days.

Going to the river, she quickly activated the Phoenix Flower Jutsu, to melt the small stream away for a water source. Afterwards, she quickly washed her face, completely waking her up, and then took a mouthful and gulped it down.

Sucking up the coldness of the water, she let out a low growl from the back of her throat, and then quickly shook it off.

_**'Food-Food-Food-Food Food-Food-Food-Food Food-Food-Food-Food-Food** _her mind thought self-consciously, and Sakura tried to drown it out. Though she surely didn't feel hungry, her inner-self _sure did. _Seriously, when had her inner of all people come back? Ever since she awoke to find herself in Akatsuki... or actually, ever since Saki appeared inner had slowly started to come out again. It was probably because while Sakura wanted to trust Saki with all the hope in her body, she had already known something was up. Her body had sent her warning signs with each and ever single minute Sakura had been alongside Saki. So, with two parts of her contradicting each other, another gap must have formed, re-awakening inner from her deep slumber.

**(A/N: The food part was supposed to sound like that Meow-mix commercial X) if you know what i mean)**

_'Maybe I should wait till I reach the village to worry about starving. It's only been a day without food.' _she snorted inwardly.

She soon crossed that option out though. Like they had previously told her a week ago, they barely made enough food for themselves, and if they didn't make enough, some would go starving. Sakura couldn't possibly take that away from them like that.

Sakura searched in her pockets, pulling out a small, plain red wallet. Opening it, she counted the money currently in it; it was about 75 dollars. She could easily get enough food to supply herself for several weeks. Problem was, _where exatly would she buy the food from?_ Buying it from the villagers was just as bad. As far as she knew, they were scared people, who never traveled. What help would money possibly do for them if they had nothing to spend it on? It wasn't like that village actually cared to much for appearances like other girls, and it wasn't like they had any shops within their town to spend it on.

Yeah... Sakura was pretty doomed right about now...

_**'How about tailing back to Konoha?'** _her most _unhelpful _other side thought.

Sakura snorted out loud. "Like I would ever return to that hell-hole that lied to me since... forever." she retorted, muttering it all under her breath.

_'But... I **do **need to eat...' _Sakura seemed almost hesitant, and she stared behind her almost longingly.

"How would i even get past Shinobi gates?" she asked out loud, sighing. She'd rather sound mental in front of... no one, instead of talking to herself inside her mind... she always ended up with a headache afterwards, what with all the talking it was handling.

**'Sneak in as a little girl.' **inner shrugged.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "No one with brains would obviously let a small girl in the village with no consent from the Hokage." she retorted.

**'Hey, how bad can it be? As long as Saki's guarding, she'll be too busy sucking face with Sasuke to even see us slip by.' **Inner suggested. Yes, inner being the alterior persona which was supposed to help Sakura, she had initially forced herself to hate Sasuke's guts, even though Sakura herself was still not convinced. To begin with, she was never one to hate someone, let alone someone she had loved since she had been... what, 6? And look how blunt inner had been, swearing at Ino when she had snuck in to her head at the preliminaries at the Chunin Exams all those years ago. Inner was even mean to Lee and Naruto, which she had swore she would never be mean to after her fan-girly stage was over.

Lee had truly been a kind soul, and back then, she was able to tell that Lee's feelings for her were true. But ever since Sasuke came back and they both officialy became and item, it seemed Lee had given up, for he admitted defeat and realized he would never be able to capture Sakura's heart, for it had been forever devoted to Sasuke back then. Heck, she wouldn't even blame Lee if he hated her, just like everyone already seemed to.

Sakura groaned. Though she hated to admit it, inner Sakura was right. Saki was much too dumb, and not to mention dense to actually figure something like that out. "They probably wouldn't even be back from the mission. They just fought Itachi and Kisame." Sakura frowned. If it wasn't Saki managing that gate, then she'd probably have no chance in entering the village just like that.

But then again, if Sakura had made it to nearly sound in just about 15 or so minutes before them, then she had no doubt they made it back to Konoha. But it also depended on how gravely Itachi and Kisame had injured them, for they would most likely be in the hospital.

Sakura sighed, turning around and walking. It would be best she at least checked it out, for if she didn't, she'd go without eating this whole day, and inner would be nagging her for being such a baby for the rest of the week. She really didn't need that right now.

So deciding to get it over with quickly, she decided it was best to move fast and stealthily. Hiding her chakra and moving like a stealthy puma -as if she were on a real mission- she focused on getting through this hour. And technically, in her opinion, she was on a mission. A self-assigned mission to not get caught.

Once she could finally see Konoha from the distance, she truly focused, now deciding to hide in bushes, and behind trees. She even went as far as disguising herself as a random boulder on a road when Konohamaru came in with Ebisu and his team.

* * *

"Nee, I can't believe they totally wooped our asses." Naruto groaned, obviously dismayed.

"Sit still you dumbass!" Tsunade shouted, patching up the small scar he had on his face. It had needed 3 stitches.

"I can't believe you guys came out _unscathed_." Shizune said from the other side of the curtain, where she was currently treating Sasuke. He had a broken rib, and a fractured finger, and that was only the beginning. They only put up the curtain to keep these two from arguing, though it wasn't even doing much.

"Only Saki came out unscathed." Sasuke corrected, staring at Saki who was currently in the corner of the room, fiddling with her fingers. Maybe it was from all the attention she was geting from being completely useless on the mission, or maybe because Sasuke currently had his shirt off, showing his abs. She didn't know, and she really didn't care. She wanted to enjoy the show while it lasted.

"Still," Shizune frowned, "You guys came out alive. That itself means you two have improved dramatically." Shizune said, sending healing chakra to Sasuke. After they had arrived 40 minutes ago, Tsunade had personally made sure that she healed the team. She couldn't risk having any of those lousy medics making mistakes on the 2 most promising shinobi in the whole village.

"What about me?" Saki pouted.

Shizune rolled her eyes, looking back for a second. "You didn't exactly do anything, and you're the reason Naruto got stitches on his head, thanks to the Water Dragon, are you not?" Shizune almost felt like glaring. If anything more, Saki had actually been a hindrance.

"They were holding back." Sasuke admitted glumly. "I know when Itachi holds back." his voice sounded ominous and dangerous, and it made shivers go down Saki's spine, and Naruto and Shizune looked disturbed. Tsunade had long since gotten used to that though, and she didn't even bat an eyelash.

"Who are you to say Itachi was holding back? You hardly even know him." Tsunade retorted.

"Ouch!" Naruto whined. Apparently, with that little retort, Tsunade had stabbed the stitched too far into his skin.

"Shut up Naruto, you deserve this for getting hurt so badly. Why hadn't you guys run? You were going against **_2 Akatsuki members. _What is wrong with you?!" **Tsunade glared.

"In my opinion, it was 3 Akatsuki members." Naruto grumbled.

**"_Excuse me?!"_** Naruto instantly regretted opening his mouth. "You went against not 2, but **3 Akatsuki members!**" Tsunade was beyond furious, and she pressed her hands on Naruto's ribs, hoping it would cause him to puncture an organ.

"Baa-chan...!" Naruto trailed off. It obviously hurt him... **good.**

"Naruto, I don't think it would be wise to speak ill of her age with the curren circumstances at hand." Sasuke grumbled, though he didn't honestly have any objections. It wasn't like Shizune was treating _his _woulds badly, so it was all good.

"I can't believe you guys didn't run. You could have _died! _You must all be a bunch of idiots." Shizune rolled her eyes, knowing it must have obviously been Sasuke's fault. Saki was still at a fan-girlish state, so it wasn't like she was going to go around defying Sasuke and his will any time soon, and Naruto was just too good of a friend to let Sasuke miss a chance for his veneagnce, so it was clear who's fault it was. I mean, it couldn't be _Kiba_. Seriously, if things kept up like this, Naruto would make a lousy Hokage. He couldn't have his friends running around like idiots in the background!

Tsunade rolled her eyes and shook her head, obviously disapproving at the team's idiocy. "Saki, where the hell were you when all of this was going on? You could have healed them!" Tsunade was shocked, confused, and just... lost. Whenever Sakura went on a mission, she made sure none of her teammates had injuries worth going to the hospital for. Maybe she had expected too much of Saki... or maybe Sakura had just set up high expectations? After all, Saki had only been training with her for a month.

But... evenso, after one month of training Sakura's skill at improved drastically. Maybe Tsunade had slackened her strict training? Who knows.

"I-I......" Saki was lost for words.

Shizune rolled her eyes. "Did you even do _anything?_" Shizune dared ask the question that had been nagging her at the pit of her stomach.

Saki parted her lips, trying to speak words, but nothing came out. "Saki, this was an _A-Ranked Mission for crying out loud!"_ Shizune threw her hand up in disbelief. "The chances of meeting Akatsuki had been over 70%! If you couldn't handle the mission we could've understood! _Sai _could have easily replaced you in this." Shizune was just very annoyed with this girl, seriously.

"Shizune calm down, it was her first Akatsuki-related mission." Tsunade made her calm down.

"In Sakura's first Akatsuki-related mission she almost killed Sasori of the Red Sand, a _dangerous _Akatsuki member, remember?" Shizune said in disbelief.

"She had been trained for over 3 years before that." Saki said.

It only shocked Shizune a fraction when Saki spoke up. "Regardless, she didn't stand in fear while they aimed deadly jutsus at her." Shizune glared. "She would have at least died trying, or saving her beloved teammates." Shizune's glare penetrated Saki. "But what did you do? You stood back and let them do all the work while you stood back, and let them aim hit after hit towards you. Look what happened to Naruto because of your lack of action." Shizune scoffed, pointing to Naruto, who had many injuries.

Shizune walked up to Naruto, pointing to a deep gash on the middle of his chest, leaning a little on the right, and a little bit low. "Naruto, how'd you get that?" Shizune asked.

"I... uhhgg..." Naruto hesitated to asnwer, because he already felt bad for Saki. It wasn't everyday Shizune totally burst and started yelling the hell out of someone... it was usually Tsunade, truth be told. "Kisame pierced me with an earth technique while I tried to get Saki out of the way." he replied nevertheless. A pissed off Shizune was something no one wanted to go through, and he sure as hell wasn't an exception.

She turned her glare back to Saki, who's face was unreadable. In truth, she was debating whether she should cry for being so weak and not helping out 'her Sasuke-kun', or whether or not she should slap the shit out of Shizune for speaking so ill of her, and making it seem like it was her fault Sasuke and Naruto got so hurt........ which in truth, if you thought about it, it was.

"You see this injury Saki? 1 second later, half an inch to the left, and 1 inch deeper, that wound would have killed Naruto." Shizune glared. "Of course, you wouldn't know that would you?" Shizune raised an eyebrow. "While I was strictly teaching you about all of this you were doodling hearts around Sasuke's fucking _name_ on a notebook I strictly bought and _was meant for notes_," she added sharply. "You're lucky Naruto heals fast or he'd probably be needing to undergo some serious surgery which he would never survive, and he still _needs it_."

Saki looked down sheepishly, Naruto looked shocked, and Sasuke looked down right disturbed.

"While on the other hand, Sakura had been so devoted to her learning to help save her friends, and maybe convince Sasuke she wasn't the weak little girl he had thought her as, she had learned all the vital organs, their locations, and all the main chakra pathways in **_2 days!" _**her frustration was just too much to handle. The room had risen 3 degrees in temeprature thanks to Shizune's anger, and she was seriously contemplating impaling the girl in front of her any second now.

"Shizune" Tsunade said hesitantly, though she tried to put as much authority and warning she could possibly put in it.

"What? You're going to tell me I'm crazy Tsunade-hime?" Shizune raised an eyebrow. "You knopw perfectly well Sa-"

"Enough about Sakura already." Sasuke banged his hand on the metal part of the hospital bed, bending the metal. He glared all around the room. "I am tired of hearing about Sakura everywhere I go." he continued. "I'd rather not be reminded." he stood up abruptly, pulling his shirt on.

"You still need to be h-" Shizune tried to stop him from pulling on his shirt by putting her hand on his shoulder, but he quickly shoved it off.

"I'll live damn it." he glared. He started walking away, and Saki lifted a foot, ready to walk as well. "Saki, if you so even follow my movements, I'll make sure you're the next one on that hospital bed with a concussion and a coma for a month." Saki quickly retreated her foot back to the ground, hesitant.

"But Sasuke-ku-"

"I really don't give a shit." he glared. "Don't you have guard duty or something? Get to it. I'll even drop you off there as long as you _don't follow me _for the rest of the week." his voice was dangerous and threatening; it seemed almost onimous again. He seemed very intent on keeping Saki away from him, apparently.

"I'll come with you gu-" Naruto quickly began but he was cut off.

"You're staying." Sasuke said firmly. "Shizune said if it were any other person, you'd need serious surgery, or you'd be dead so you better not move a muscle." Sasuke glared. Naruto opened his mouth, ready to protest once again, "I don't need to lose another precious person in my life on the same year."

If the threat to Saki wasn't one of the dangerous and most _serious _things Sasuke had ever said, then this surely was. This had immobolized Naruto, who had already been getting up and about to walk towards his team.

"I suggest you stop oggling me and start doing your job as Hokage and heal Naruto." And with that, Sasuke left, Saki only 5 steps away from him.

Saki didn't talk at all, for she feared if she did Sasuke would commence that threat and send her to the hospital even earlier. She didn't need that; frankly, she had barely managed to survive the last mission. And hearing Sakura actually defeated one of those crazy buffed-up ninja?

Saki frowned. Was it just her, or was she a long way from actually surpassing Sakura? And not to mention Sakura had defeated that Sasori of the Red Sand when she had been fifteen, five years ago.

Exiting the hospital, Saki stared up at Sasuke, who seemed as pissed, as pissed could actually _get_. Damn it, damn it, _damn_ _it_! This mission was supposed to prove to Sasuke that she was strong enough to be his girlfriend! That she was as strong as Sakura, and actually, stronger, considering she had managed to impale Sakura with a katana, and practically kill her. God knows why she still survived after that. Either she was getting help from unnatural forces from the world beyond, or Saki was seriously underestimating Sakura, who she hadn't even taken lightly from the beginning.

(Or maybe if she had studied her anatomy better, she would have actually _not _missed Sakura's vitals)

Saki sighed. But then again, what did she expect from Sasuke's first and only girlfriend, who he had tried to propose to? She had been lucky Naruto had let it slip while they were at Ichiraku's right before Sakura arrived. That had been the day she stole her seat next to Sasuke. If it hadn't been for that, Saki would have never taken action. After all, she doubted she'd ever get Sasuke to move on as fast if he had proposed, or married Sakura for that matter. She had had to commence her plan before the day they came back from the mission, and if she did say so herself, she had done a pretty good job faking her death.

"We're here"

If it wasn't for Sasuke's warning she would have most likely run into a street pole, too distracted in her own thoughts. They were already right at the gates.

"Oh... already" she mostly said that to herself. "Thank you for accompanying me Sasuke-kun. And I wanted you to kn-"

"Save it Saki." Sasuke cut her off. "I really don't want to here it, and I could care less what you're about to say." Sasuke turned around coldly.

Tears streamed down Saki's face, whether they were real, or fake. She ran towards Sasuke, hugging him from behind, much like Sakura did when trying to control the Cursed Seal when Sasuke had not been able to control it in the Forest of Death, Chunin Exams.

The mere memory made Sasuke shiver, and the fact that that wasn't Sakura hugging him, made Sasuke shove her away violently. "I don't like your hugs" he merely stated.

"Why Sasuke-kun?" she broke down in tears even more. "Why can't you return my feelings? Can't you see I care more about you then Sakura ever d-"

"Shut up!"

This left Saki stunned for a moment, but nevertheless, she continued. "Why did you accept Sakura's feelings but not mine?! I act the same exact way as she used to-"

"And that's the point." Sasuke glared. "I know this isn't you, and even if you say you care more about me than Sakura, we both know its a lie. You know nothing about me." Sasuke said harshly.

"I know all I need to know!" Saki insisted.

"Hardly" Sasuke scoffed.

"Your favorite food is tomatoes! You're best friends with Naruto, and he is also your rival! Lee used to be your rival too, because you both wanted Sakura! You and the Kazekage don't get along very well! In fact, you don't get along with many people!" Y-"

"That's enough." Sasuke was looking at the floor, painful memories filling his head.

"Sas-"

Sasuke turned around violently, shaking her by the shoulders wildly. "Do you know my worst fear? My true life's ambition? My favorite thing to do? My favorite tree? Favorite game? Do you even know how i _feel inside?!" _Sasuke asked.

Saki didn't answer, mostly because she didn't know any of the answers.

"Sakura might have been a fan girl, but she was the only one who tried to look inside of me, for what really counted, not just my skills, looks, intelligence, and blood heritage." Sasuke glared. "The only one -who besides Naruto- gave a rat's ass about me when I was lost and confused, off at Orochimaru's. After I left, all the fan girls forgot about me, and turned to Neji as a new target. A fan girl means nothing to me." Sasuke glared.

"Sakura tried to be nice to me, something no other fan girl had ever tried, and when I was feeling down, she gave me the thing I truly wanted and needed, instead of stupid flowers, love letters, and chocolates." Sasuke continued. "She tried to keep me off the path of vengeance while the other fan girls only cared about me staying alive so they could keep fawning over my looks. Sakura actually _stood up for me _when I was helpless, and unable to protect myself any longer from Orochimaru." he couldn't even finish describing all of the amazing things about Sakura, and how she made him feel the way he did.

"Now tell me, do you think you're like Sakura, or just any other fan girl?"

Saki didn't reply again, now being in denial. How could she have been so blind? She thought that replacing Sakura would have been easy... where had she gone wrong? Had she truly underestimated Sasuke's affection for Sakura?

"That's what I thought." Sasuke 'hmpph'ed before he left, leaving a tear-stained Saki in his wake.

* * *

"Ino, I think we're done patching Naruto up, we can take care of the rest." Shizune assured her, patting Ino on the shoulder.

"You guys sure?" Ino asked, wiping her brow full of sweat. "He's still in pretty bad condition." Ino asked. She had been working a regular shift at the hospital when Shizune had contacted her and told her they would need to undergo surgery with Naruto. Apparently, that earth jutsu Kisame had used on him had also contained some posion, but it was nothing Tsunade couldn't handle with a little help and an antidote.

"Yeah, we just need to stitch it up and Naruto will do the rest of the healing by himself." Shizune assured. "You did good Ino, you may take your leave for the day." Shizune smiled warmly at her.

Ino nodded. "But what got him so gravely injured?" Ino asked.

Shizune sighed. "These idiots faced off Akatsuki" Shizune shook her head disapprovingly.

"By 'these idiots' you mean...." she trialed off, hoping it wasn't what she thought.

Shizune nodded, confirming her worst thoughts. "Naruto, Sasuke, and Saki."

Ino gasped. "Is everyone okay? What happened to Saki? And what room is Sasuke in so i can check on him?" Ino asked hurriedly.

Shizune laughed. "What makes you assume Sasuke's in here too?"

"He's clumsy, obnoxious, and it was Akatsuki. Itachi Uchiha Akatsuki." Ino sighed.

"You have a point." Shizune chuckled. "Saki got out scotch free because she was protected by Naruto and Sasuke the whole time. Didn't even help one bit." Shizune sighed. "Sasuke on the other hand had several wounds left unpatched so I'm worried they'll get infected. But Sasuke being Sasuke, ran off because of his usual, typical Uchiha emo-self." Shizune sighed.

Ino sighed, shaking her head, though she did seem worried. "I'll go check on him." Ino said.

"Good luck finding him. No one knows where Sasuke goes when in depression."

"Well... I can think of a few spots." And with that, Ino checked out for the day, putting her bloody white lab coat on the 'dirty bin' and then exiting the hospital.

_'Now to find Sasuke'_

**End of Chapter**

**If you haven't noticed from the previous chapter, I'm trying to start showing people's opinions about Sakura's 'death'. A wonderful reviewer (you know who you are) pointed out that Shikamaru and Gaara should also catch onto Saki's fake-ness and total b!tchness x) I had thought about letting Shikamaru in it, because let's face it, that man's a genius, but not Gaara :) good point!**

**I hadn't originally thought about Gaara because he's not much of a main character in the story (nor does he live in Konoha) but I'm sure since Naruto and Gaara are all best buddies, I should be able to include it :D**

**(what do you all think Gaara, Sai, Shizune, Hinata, Sasuke, and Temari would do when they find out about Saki's plan? X) haha the mere thought makes me want to cackle evilly. (think about it, you'll see my point.)**

**Some reviewers were saying they wished Saki would have actually gotten hurt... was Shizune's out burst enough for ya? If not, just wait a few chapters... Saki will be broken down emotionally if not physically! :D Isn't it so much fun to just have a punching bag?**

**So, if any of you would like to join in on the fun, you could add in ur review (or pm me if you wish, though i rather have it in review) some type of way you would wish for Saki to suffer (besides the inital death, for that she will experience later on) and nothing too rash that will get her sent to a hospital with a concussion and a coma like Sasuke had promised... i mean threatened... haha...**

**But really, anything goes as far as Akamaru biting the shiz outta her X) Poor Akamaru, he'll have this nasty taste in his mouth for a while... haha i'm ranting now, sorry!**

**Any and all feedback is much appreciated, and i hope you all enjoyed this long chapter! i think its the longest yet :O**

**-Marzy-chan~~! :))**

**P.S. I've realized I've been forgetting to put the recaps in the chapters. If any of you think it's best i put them up, please tell me and I'll make sure to put em'~~!**


	7. Friend

**Hello everyone! I gotz the next chapter up already! Hope i didn't keep you all waiting for too long, and ooh, I have a feeling people will like this chappy a lot, but No, it does not hold any Saki-bashing, I apologize. hehe X) anyway! on to the story!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form, you all got that? X) Seriously, who would think I did?**

**Oh, and once more i add, if anyone feels the need for me to add a recap, just pm me or drop a review and i'll begin doing that again! :)**

**Chapter 7: Friend**

Ino was walking, and decided to pay Saki a quick visit, just to make sure she was okay, before she went to go look for Sasuke as Shizune had indirectly asked her to do. Seriously, Shizune wouldn't even bother mentioning anything about Sasuke if she didn't need something of him, or something along those lines. Shizune wasn't particularly fond of the Uchiha, considering he always acted moody, and now he was beginning to act if no one was important again...

By now, Saki had had about 15 minutes to cool down, so it seemed she hadn't even been crying at all.

"Saki-chan!" Ino greeted, walking up to the gate.

"Ino! It's been too long" Saki greeted, putting a fake smile on her face. She just really wasn't in the mood right now, after the whole Sasuke thing. All of that made her realize she truly didn't know Sasuke at all. Well, she knew quite a lot, but not about what really mattered most... so told by him, anyway.

"I heard about the mission; just got done patching Naruto up. What happened?" Ino asked, hoping for more of a description.

"Akatsuki showed up in the middle of nowhere! Can you believe it?" Saki rolled her eyes. But really, it wasn't in the middle of nowhere, theoritcally speaking, considering they mission description _said _they might face up against them sooner or later. And the chances had been more than 70% too... so yeah...

"That's terrible but the good thing is everyone's home safe and sound." Ino said, trying to form a smile to try to cheer her up, if possible.

"Yeah, I know what you mean... but the mission took its toll on Sasuke-kun. He saw Itachi Uchiha... and then... I don't know... it just..." Saki couldn't even explain. Even Itachi had known Sasuke was grieving over someone... was it really that obvious? And if yes, how come Saki had never even noticed before?

"Don't even try to explain it." Ino shook her head, stopping her. "Sasuke always gets like that when it comes to Itachi. It's just the thought of knowing the person who ruined your life is standing in front of you... and... well, it must feel terrible, really. I feel bad for Sasuke. Everyone expects him to avenge Itachi... I'm not even sure he wants to anymore..." Ino said sadly.

"What do you mean? Hasn't it always been his ambition to kill Itachi ever since he was in the Academy?" Saki asked. One thing was for sure: she had her info down pretty damn well. She hadn't been snooping around with Sasuke's -_'annoying' _she quickly added- fan girls for months to just be clueless.

**(A/N: Ha)**

"Yes but... did you see the ring?" Ino seemed almost hesitant to bring it up. Of course, they were talking about the engagement ring Sasuke had bought for Sakura a little over a month ago. He still had it too... he had refused to return it. Ino found it odd, that ring must have been worth a lot.

"Did I ever, that thing was _huge_." Saki sighed. If only Sasuke would give her a ring like that... she might just be so happy she had to die.

"Sasuke had been ready to settle down... I think he seriously meant it when he wanted to propose to Sakura... Sakura had always been against his whole vengeance plan of his... told him directly she couldn't ever stand being with a man who could only think of killing someone as a life long dream. "What would your children think?" she always accused Sasuke." Ino sighed.

Saki leaned up a little, interested in what Ino was sharing with her. Maybe this information would prove to be useful later on in the future when trying to convince Sasuke..."What's your point in this?"

"You know his ambition right?" Ino asked. Saki nodded in response. "Well... I think he changed it... all for the sake of being with Sakura... He had been willing to let Itachi go, just so he could move on with his life and find something in it that he wanted to keep, and not push away like he had done so to everything else previous to this... he was tired of pushing Sakura and Naruto away, giving them a stupid reason for them to wait for him..."

Ino's logic made so much sense... too much sense. She must have obviously been thinking about this whole idea for a long time. In truth, she had spent all night yesterday thinking about it, after the whole 'Sakura is alive!' thing.

"Basically, you're telling me..." Saki's eyes widened in realization.

Ino nodded. "He had planned to change _everything _for Sakura. He didn't need Itachi as long as he had Sakura and Naruto."

Saki was quiet. But from this, she realized something. She was now able to answer one of the questions he had required from her...

"What is my true ambition"

Thw words kept ringing inside her head. "To start a family..." she let the small whisper escape her lips.

"What was that Saki-chan?" Ino asked confused.

Saki shook her head. "Nothing" How could she be so blind? She was completely devoted to Sasuke, and yet, she couldn't even answer any of his questions... and to think he was ready to marry Sakura...

Saki couldn't stand the thought of it. It irked her to no end to think Sasuke had liked Sakura enough to actually _want _to marry her... to 'reconstruct' his clan with her... Like hell would she ever let that happen. The only one who would help him reconstrcut his clan would be _her._ She'd be the one to make sure of that... whatever the cost.

* * *

_'I can't believe I'm actually listening to your dumbass advice.' _Sakura shook her head disapprovingly, making some hand signs until she turned into a perfect clone of Suzuki, except she made sure the clothes didn't look so poor looking. That would definitely be suspicious, considering Konoha wasn't much of a poor village.

Grabbing a small basket she had literally knitted for the past 15 minutes and filled with random herbs, she put on a smiley, bubbly face, like she knew Suzuki would truly have, and prayed to Kami this truly worked.

Skipping down merrily, she followed inner's advice and started humming the tune of 'Merry had a Little Lamb', no matter how dumb it sounded. She had to make sure it didn't seem fake, so when approaching the gate, she couldn't help but feel relieved Saki was there, but dread soon followed afterwards.

_'Why did Ino have to be there?!' _she almost felt like giving up hope now.

Both the attentions of the young ladies turned to Sakura, and their eyes immediately sparkled in interest.

"Oh my, what a cute little thing you are!" Ino squealed. Yes, in real life, Suzuki really was adorable.

Sakura giggled shyly. "T-Thank you" she grabbed her dress with her hands, and bowed like a princess would.

"What brings you here little girl? You know you're not allowed to enter the village right?" Saki chirped.

Sakura cocked her head to the side, feigning confusion. "But I live here." she stated, a small and adorable pout making its way to her face.

"Y-You do?" Saki was caught by surprise.

"Yeah" Sakura confirmed. "I left about 20 minutes ago so I can gather some herbs for Kaa-san." she explained, showing them her little basket.

"But I've been here for half an hour. I never saw you leave at all." Saki cocked her haid to the side as well.

Sakura mentally slapped her forehead, but played it cool on the outside. _'Any suggestions inner? Please make it quick, considering this is your oh-so-genius plan.' _she thought sourly, mentally rolling her eyes.

**'Just say this...' **she trailed off.

Sakura's eyes widened a fraction, completely gone unnoticed by the girls. They were too busy fawning over the cute little girl in front of them who looked like a little angel.

_'But what if-'_

**'Just do it!' **inner cut her off.

"Ohh, you see, I was going to tell you I would be leaving for a few minutes." Sakura began.

"But...?" Saki asked.

"Well, you see..." she played with the bottom of her dress a little, making it seem like she was nervous. "I saw you talking to a guy, and I thought it was your boyfriend, and it looked really important so I didn't want to interrupt. You guys looked like such a cute couple so I didn't want to spoil it." she let a totally fake blush spread across her face. Last time Saki had been on guard duty, the time Sakura saw anyway, Sasuke had dropped her off. She figured it was a regluar, day-to-day thing for the two, or whatever.

"What bo-" Saki quickly cut herself off.

At first, Sakura thought _'Inner you dumbass you blew our cover!!!!' _But then, hearing Saki's squeal, she actually noted inner might have been... right... _for once_.

Ino laughed. "What boy was this Saki-chan?"

Saki tried to control her enthusiasm. "If you must know, it was Sasuke-kun." she said, but squeals errupted once more seconds after.

Ino's eyes seemed to widen, and maybe sadden for a fraction of a second before she recomposed herself.

Sakura, being the stealthy ninja that she was, and being in this tight predicament at the current moment, paid close attention to everything, and she definitely didn't fail to see her eyes. _'What the...'_before she could even finish her question, inner interrupted and told her to tell Saki she really couldn't keep squealing around like pigs with her. Sakura felt like snorting but sighed and acted all cute and child-like.

"I-I'm sorry, but Kaa-san i-is really expecting t-this sooo..." Sakura, or Suzuki, trailed off hesitantly.

"Oh, don't mind me, go right in!" Saki giggled. "You're such a cute little girl." she added, pinching Sakura's cheeks. Sakura blushed, though on the inside she felt like puking and biting her hand.

"Bye!" Sakura waved, hopping away down the street.

_'Mission: Infiltrate Konoha, SUCCESS' _Sakura could barely believe it, and she immediately went off to eat. She still couldn't believe Saki had fallen for that... if she got in that easily, Konoha might have a security issue soon... not that she really cared anymore; this wasn't her home.

"Well..." Ino trailed off. "I gues I'll be going." Ino smiled, waving at Saki.

"Leaving so soon?" Saki pouted.

"Yeah... I have a few things to take care of." Ino said before she gave Saki a brief hug and disappeared.

Saki merely hummed in curiosity before shrugging it off. What was with the sudden mood swing with Ino? Maybe it was just that time of the month again...

* * *

Sasuke sighed. He still couldn't believe he had flipped out and gone totally crazy on Saki, though he truly had a good reason. That girl just drove him _mad! _If he honestly sent her to the hospital, commatose, he could _not _be blamed.

_"Do you know my worst fear? My true life's ambition? My favorite thing to do? My favorite tree? Favorite game? Do you even know how I feel inside?!" _

Sasuke thought about his previous words sourly. No one knew that about him as of this point. Sakura had been the only one, and well, she died... so he couldn't exactly count her at all. So, sitting at the Team 7 training grounds, Sasuke couldn't help but let his eyes linger on the all too familiar wooden posts some distance away. That had been where Naruto had been tied up, and Sasuke and Sakura had actually been kind to him; probably the first true act of kindness Naruto had recieved from people his age.

Unknowingly, he walked to the spot, and sat down where he had previously done so, all those years ago. The images in his head seemed to be real, and he could clearly see Naruto tied up again, whining about being hungry, while Sakura was laughing.

He stuck his hand out, caressing her cheek, and was half surprised he only felt air. He blinked, and the image was gone, blown away by the wind, along with a few leaves.

Sasuke frowned. His mind was toying with him again....._again_. Seriously, he was getting much too depressed about this.

Sasuke got up once again, making his way inside the forest. Reaching a small opening he noticed this had been where Kakashi had tricked him, and had dragged him under ground. A small smile made it way to his features. Sakura had been so hilarious, screaming her head off until she passed out. It had just been too funny, but at the time he had just been annoyed. He was stuck, and his joints had been aching, that's why. But thinking back, it truly was such a sight to see, considering nowadays Sasuke -or anyone else- would get punched all the way to Suna if they tried a stunt like that, to fool her of course.

Turning around, he decided maybe he should go grab a bite to eat. He hadn't eaten all day, and hardly anything the day before, after all. Besides, Naruto would probably drag him to Ichiraku's after he was done with his sugery anyway.

* * *

Sitting down at her favorite ramen stand, Sakura could still not believe she had gotten away with it. Either she was a very good actress, or Saki was just very _dumb._Inner was thinking they could totally use her dumb-ness to their advantage. She was seriously much worse than she or Ino had been back in their fan-girl days.

"Hello there little girl, what can I get you today?"Ayame asked cheerfully, getting down to Suzuki's level and smiling brightly.

"B-Beef ramen please." Sakura showed her a shy smile.

"Coming right up you adorable little thing." Ayame chirped, turning around.

Sakura sighed. She would seriously need to hurry. If Saki had returned, that meant Naruto and Sasuke had too. And knowing Naruto, it was always a tradition to go straight to Ichiraku's after sending the mission report and what not. Sakura could only hope they had finished a while ago. But then again, Saki had only been on duty for 30 minutes... and if they had already eaten, Naruto and Sasuke would currently be sitting along side her now. Meaning.....

Crap, they hadn't eaten yet.

And it only even worse when she felt Sasuke's chakra approaching. Sakura was thinking about just running out of there, like the scared little girl she was pretending to be. Sure, she had made sure to mask her chakra and make sure the henge was almost unnoticeable, but she was screwed if Sasuke was actually paying attention, or if he turned on his Sharingan.

Sasuke came in, and Suki looked directly at him. She and Sasuke locked gazes for what could have been 5 seconds, before he turned away and sat _right next to her._

"Good morning Sasuke. Usual?" Ayame asked, her back facing him.

"Hn" Sasuke gave her a short reply.

By that time, Ayame was already turned around, handing Suki her beef ramen. "T-Thank you" Suki muttered, breaking her chopsticks.

"You welcome cutie-pie." Ayame then focused her attention on Sasuke. "Where's Naruto?" Ayame asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "Undergoing surgery"

Sakura almost choked on her noodles. She thought she told Kisame to go _easy _on them?! Well... maybe _he was going easy._

"What?!" Ayame shouted what Sakura had been yelling in her mind.

"Kisame Hoshigaki attacked Saki and in an effort to save Saki, Naruto threw himself in there." Sasuke shrugged. "Shizune said it wouldn't be that bad."

"Shizune's a liar."

They all turned around, including Suki, to see Naruto there, clutching his chest. "They didn't even numb me. Baa-chan said it was a lesson for not running when we should have." Naruto grumbled, sitting on the other side of Suki... just great. Sasuke was all the way at the edge, that's why.

Ayame gasped, and Sasuke merely shook his head.

"Beef ramen please" Naruto muttered, before he continued with his conversation. "Why didn't _you_get hurt this badly?" Naruto whined.

"Because unlike you, I'm not an idiot." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I didn't cause myself bodily harm when I saved Saki. I countered their jutsus."

"But that's so not heroic at all." Naruto whined. "And in my opinion, Itachi wasn't even _trying _to beat you."

Sasuke's knuckles went white, just as Ayame gave him his bowl of ramen.

"That _wasn't _Itachi." Sasuke assured him.

"The first person wasn't. I can't believe you actually thought it was him. He was much shorter, and he wouldn't reveal himself."

Sakura slurped her noddles quietly. It didn't help that they were directing their attention right to her too, considering she was in between them both.

"She" Sasuke corrected.

Suki visibly flinched. She could only hope they didn't see it.

"But seriously, who was that?!" Naruto exclaimed, his ramen bowl now being placed in front of him.

"It had to be a spy." Sasuke commented.

"Yeah, that would explain why she ran away afterwards, and why she didn't show her techniques." Naruto agreed, nodding his head up and down.

"To not give us a hint of who she might be." Sasuke said, as if connecting the pieces.

_'Wow... Naruto's not so dumb after all... but that wasn't the only reason.' _Sakura thought glumly. She also didn't want to hurt Sasuke if she could ever help it.

"Yeah, and then Itachi showed up... Did you understand what they were talking about at all? I couldn't catch anything because Saki had been yelling my name out." Naruto whined.

"Just before the real Itachi showed up."

Naruto scoffed. "Did you see Kisame picking 'Itachi' up? I thought they were gay!" he exclaimed, laughing.

Sasuke glared. "I don't understand why she needed help though." Sasuke seemed troubled, and he chose to not think about Naruto's previous statement, for he would get mental images, and that would disturb him for life.

"What do you mean?" Naruto mumbled, too busy trying to digest his noodles. "You could see by her previous flawless moves she was more than capable to dodge the moves. The last one... right before Itachi appeared... she seemed almost hesitant to dodge it."

"Maybe that was what Kisame was talking to her about. To actually start trying." Naruto shrugged it off.

"Thing is, it seemed she knew what I would be trying next, but she made no effort to stop it." Sasuke looked deep inside his cup of ramen, staring at his reflection.

"I still can't believe Itachi didn't put you in Tsukiyomi." Naruto started another conversation. "It seems to be a favorite move for him to try on you. What does he even show you?" Naruto asked.

"He either makes me relive the... massacre, stabs me with katanas on a cross, or makes me attack everyone I know..." Sasuke muttered.

"That must be gruesome, seeing blood everywhere, and seeing you mutilate your own friends, cutting off their heads and what not." Naruto held back a shiver.

"It is" Sasuke muttered. "Ever eaten Kakashi's own flesh before?"

Suki shivered, not because of Sasuke previous statement, but because this was just all too much. They were practically ignoring her, even when she _wasn't _Sakura.

"Little girl, are we scaring you?" Naruto's voice snapped her out of her thoughts as he gently poked her shoulder.

Suki harshly pulled away, looking at her ramen bowl, petrified. That had been the first contact she had had with her friends in over a month.

Naruto immediately back away. "Sorry umm... what's your name?" Naruto asked.

"Kaa-san told me never to talk to strangers." Sakura said strictly, still looking straight. Truth be told, she was just scared to talk to them all.

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you! We're good people." Naruto insisted.

Sakura felt the need to roll her eyes, and if it weren't for the fact that she had been betrayed by these people, she would've. How ironic was it he was supposed to be a good person, but not only did he previously kill countless of people, but he also killed her soul, sort of.

But Sakura knowing Naruto as good as she did, knew he would not stop until getting her name. "S-Suki" she said at last.

"That's a pretty name." Naruto smiled at her. "I'm Naruto... Naruto Uzamaki, future Hokage!"

Sakura, who was now done with her ramen, pushed it in front of her. "M-May I have a-another please?" she looked at Ayame with her orbs filled with shyness and cute-ness. If anyone looked any further, they would have seen hurt and deception.

"Sure thing Suki-chan!" Ayame said, who was previously listening in to their conversation.

"For a little girl, you eat a lot you know." Naruto kept trying to start a conversation.

Sasuke scoffed from beside her. "As a little kid you ate three times more ramen than the average person would eat monthly."

"Don't listen to Sasuke-teme Suki! He's just a regular grouchy person!" Naruto dismissed.

Suki didn't reply. Instead, she focused on the new bowl of ramen in front of her.

"So do you go to the Academy?" Naruto asked.

Suki contemplated on answering, and soon, nodded her head. Naruto looked ecstatic.

"Training to be a ninja is really hard work Suki-chan!" he stressed, now thinking that her being a ninja made her all that much cooler.

Suki nodded once more. She didn't want to talk to Naruto... it was too hurtful.

"Remember, team work is always important!" Naruto reminded her.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Sasuke interrupted, looking at the child in interest. Not really interest, just a curious type of interest.

Suki shook her head, for the sake of it all.

"Reminds me of Hinata-chan!" Naruto grinned.

"H-Hinata-chan?" Suki asked curiously, as if asking who she was. In truth, she just wanted to see how she was doing, even though Hinata probably didn't care about her.

"She's his girlfriend." Sasuke scoffed.

"Hey! She's not my girlfriend!" Naruto defended. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Okay, fine" Naruto grumbled. "But I have hardly seen her at all." Naruto sighed.

"Didn't you see her right before we went on the mission?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah... but she hardly talked, and she kept insisting there was something up with Saki. Crazy huh?" Naruto whined. "She doesn't go out much anymore. Says she doesn't like shopping with Saki and Ino... says she prefers Sakura."

Sakura's eyes widened... did he... did he seriously just say what she thought he said? Did Hinata actually _see through Saki's fakeness??_Sakura felt that maybe life wasn't so screwed up after all. Maybe Kami was looking out for her, in a way.

Sakura felt a whole bunch of tension escape, and she could only feel relief. Hinata... Sakura knew Hinata was much too kind to be mean. And being kind, Sakura guessed she could also see through Saki's lying, mean, cruel self.

"She really misses Sakura." Naruto sighed.

Sakura only felt a tiny bit of pang in her heart, noticing Naruto didn't even refer to her as 'Sakura-chan' anymore.

From the corner of her eyes, she could see Sasuke's knuckles turn white as he gripped his chopsticks. "Can we _please _not talk about Sakura?" he glared at his food. He had just finished forgetting her this morning, geez. "I'm tired of hearing her name." his anger was so much, his Sharingan had turned on accidently.

"Sasuke put that away! You're going to scare Suki-chan!... Suki-chan?"

Naruto looked at the stool beside him, but found it empty, money thrown on the table right next to her ramen.

"Look what you did Sasuke-teme! You scared her away! Just because you can't stand hearing about Sakura because you miss her doesn't mean you can go running off making her name taboo." Naruto glared.

Sasuke only hmppff'ed in response.

From outside the stand, Sakura was holding back her tears. Not only had she left in a hurry because Sasuke's Sharingan had turned on, but because he... he said that... And after hearing "Just because you can't stand hearing about Sakura-' she left running, trying to hold back the tears she knew would eventually sprout.

She already knew Sasuke hated her, but being reminded about it right in front of her face hurt... it really did.

Suki ran in a hurry, her eyes blurred from the tears in the way. She didn't even know where she was going, or who she bumped into until she was on the floor, her knee scraped.

The tiny sting of pain only made it easier for Sakura to let her pain out.

"Oh my! I-I'm sorry!" the woman bent over to analyze Suki's wound. Suki looked up, her eyes widening... well she'd be damned! It was Hinata!

Almost out of instinct and relief she ran straight to Hinata's arms, who only seemed mildly confused. Hinata quickly replaced confusion with caring, and kindess. "There there" Hinata tried to soothe her, picking her up gently so she was standing on her feet. "Let's see that wound of yours, shall we?" Hinata bent down, examining the wound.

She reached for her pocket, getting out something, and putting some cream on the wound. Sakura recognized it as the same one she had given to Naruto years ago in the Chunin Exams.

Sakura was only half-happy she was able to experience such kindness from her now favorite Hyuga in the world, possibly her only best friend besides the S-Class criminal, Kisame Hoshigaki. "A-Arigatou" her tears got even heavier. She was now mostly crying from happiness, instead of sadness. She really didn't care about Sasuke right now... she had a _friend_. Maybe Hinata knew what it felt like to be shunned, somewhat, and that was why she and the heiress had become such close friends...

"W-What's wrong?" Hinata asked nervously.

Suki shook her head. She didn't want to talk about it.

"How about I treat you to some ice cream?" Hinata smiled.

Suki nodded. "I-I'd like that"

Hinata took her hand gently, and they both made their way to the ice cream parlor, Hinata holding her hand. "My name's Hinata by the way. Hinata Hyuga."

Suki wiped her tears, trying to smile. "Suki" Sakura refused to say her last name, just because she didn't actually know it.

"What can I get you ladies?" the man said while smiling, once they had entered the small shop.

"One Strawberry and Chocolate and..." Hinata pondered, staring down at Suki.

"Butter Pecan and Rocky Road." Suki instructed, her tears now dried up, and a bright smile replacing them.

"Alrighty then" the man turned around to get their orders ready.

"Butter Pecan and Rocky Road?" Hinata questioned.

Suki nodded. "Why?" she asked curiously.

Hinata shook her head gingerly. "The odd combination reminds me of a dear friend, is all. She used to love those flavors."

Sakura's spirits grew even more... not only had Hinata remembered, but she had called her a dear friend... Sakura felt like crying again but held back the tears... she was happy, she should savor this moment before she had to leave again.

"Here you are." the man snapped them out of her conversation as he handed them their ice cream.

Suki reached for her pockets, to get some money, but Hinata stopped her. "It's okay Suki-chan, I got it." Hinata assured her with a hearty smile, before she turned back to the man, gave Suki her ice cream, and then paid for both of them.

Afterwards, Suki and Hinata found themselves in a small park bench, enjoying their ice cream and listening to other little kids play in a small sand box, now, snow box. "Thank you for the ice cream, Hinata." Suki broke the silence.

"Don't mention it" Hinata assured. "But... why were you crying?" Hinata seemed worried.

Suki contemplated on the answer. "I-.....I'm just in need of a friend, is all." Suki said, turning her ice cream around and licking the part that was melting. Both were now well in to their second scoop of ice cream, the other, quickly consumed.

Hinata seemed slightly shocked, but she soon recovered. "I'll be your friend." Hinata assured, smiling.

Sakura smiled... it was a true smile, one she hadn't shown in a very long time. "Ahh! Hinata, you're dripping!" she over exaggerated, pointing to the strawberry, which was slowly dripping down the ice cream cone.

Hinata gasped, making a horrid expression, before quickly inclining and licking it hurriedly. "Disaster avoided" she said in relief, her face seemed tired.

Suki giggled. "Not just yet." Suki reached towards Hinata, and wiped off some strawberry that had brushed against her nose while on her 'Stop Drippage' Mission.

Hinata blushed from embarrassment but they soon both started laughing together.

"I haven't laughed like this in a while." Hinata commented, trying to regain her breathing pattern.

"Me neither" Suki agreed. There seemed to be a tense silent... as if Hinata wanted to get something off her chest. "You want to tell me?" Suki asked, as if reading her mind.

Hinata looked surprised, turning to her. "How did you..." Hinata couldn't even finish her words.

"You look as troubled as I am." Suki replied, smiling.

There was more silence, for about 2 minutes, until Hinata's lips parted. "It happened a little over a month ago..." her words were slow, almost hesitant. Sakura immediately knew she was talking about her supposed 'death'. "A very close friend of mine... one of my best friends actually... she... she passed away." Hinata was staring at her ice cream, almost as if recalling memories.

"You miss her?" Suki asked.

"Very much so" Hinata confirmed. "I just..." Hinata couldn't even finish her sentence. Tears started falling down her cheeks. She felt one land on her hand, and she looked at them incredulously. "Look, I'm the one crying now." she tried to laugh, but it sounded like a bitter one.

Suki quickly pounced on her, hugging her for comfort. "I just wish this was all a cruel nightmare." Hinata cried, dropping her ice cream on the snow and hugging Suki, who had by now already gobbled up her ice cream. Only the cone had been left, and she had quickly disposed of it. Hinata was much more important to her than an iddly ice cream.

"Don't we all?" Suki whispered mostly to herself sympathetically. "Sometimes life may seem cruel, but what happens is usually for the better." Sakura insisted. She didn't really care if she sounded much to wise for a little girl. Hinata needed the comfort only a grown up could give her right now.

"B-By taking S-Sakura?" Hinata let out a whimper, confused at the sudden cruelness of the world around her.

Suki let go, shaking her head. "Sakura is not gone." she tried to smile, reaching up and wiping Hinata's tears from her. Hinata gave her a questioning look. "Sakura is alive" and right at the moment, Suki seriously felt like telling Hinata it was her. To dispel her henge, and tell her the whole truth of what had happened, and what Saki had done. But she couldn't... or she wouldn't, more specifically.

What satisfaction would that give her to torture Saki and go back to Team 7? They all hated her anyway. She'd only be snooping to Saki's level, trying to make them all like her when they really didn't.

Hinata wiped her tears away. "What do you mean?" Hinata asked, snapping Sakura away from her thoughts.

"Sakura will always be alive... in here." Sakura diverted answering truthfully, by pointing to her chest, or more directly, the heart.... "As long as you keep showing you love Sakura as a friend, she'll never leave." Suki smiled.

Hinata smiled. "You're really smart." Hinata complimented.

Suki giggled. "Thanks! I have to be if I want to be a successful ninja! I want to be just like you when I grow up!" Suki exclaimed.

_'Or maybe another life, considering I'm actually already old.' _Sakura felt like sweat dropping.

**'Hinata is officially in the 'Friends' list right above Kisame.' **Inner said. She had gotten this crazy idea about making a list of all the new friends she managed to get.

_'Right.... how many people are in there?'_

**'Three, including Itachi. He saved your life, and he's too sexy to not be considered a friend.'**

Suki fell of the bench.

Hinata gasped. "A-Are you okay Suki?" Hinata quickly got up, making her way to Suki hurriedly. Too bad she forgot it was slippery... she fell as well.

"Are you okay Hinata?" Suki replied, trying to get up as well. She did, but as soon as she took a step she fell once again.

"I'm all ri-Whoa!!" she fell once again.

After about 5 more times of falling, they grabbed on to each other like leeches and then slowly got up, laughing all the while.

Hinata and Suki must have spent hours and hours on end together for when Suki asked for the time, it was already 3:00 in the afternoon! Sakura had noted her chakra reserves were now around half way empty.

By then, Sakura realized she would have to go soon... she needed that chakra to make it to Sound, and in case she met some... difficulties in her journey, you could say.

Sakura was reluctant to leave, and she felt really bad about telling Hinata a lie.

"Kaa-san will get very worried if I'm not there for dinner." Suki sighed.

Hinata looked sad as well. "W-Will I see you t-tomorrow?" Hinata asked.

Sakura so desperately wanted to say yes, but reluctantly, she shook her head. "Kaa-san and Tou-san are going to Fire Country to visit Jii-chan tomorrow." she made up an excuse. "W-We're spending Christmas there."

Hinata's face fell. "O-Oh... I see." but it was gone almost as soon as it came. "B-But I w-will see you a-again, right?"

"Definitely!" Sakura didn't even wait to bat an eye lash. She didn't care if she had to sneak back in to Konoha once a week to see Hinata. _She would see _Hinata_._She didn't care if she had to break in to Konoha, and say a thousand lies to that dumb-ass Saki if she had to.

After they both said their good byes, instead of going to the gate, Sakura went back to her apartment. Making sure no one was looking, she sneaked in there. Sakura decided if she was going to actually permanently settle into Sound, she couldn't settle with 10 days worth of clothing. So, initially, Sakura took _everything_. Everything she truly wanted, anyway.

She left behind some clothes she never used anymore, and packed up all her ninja weapons, clothes, scrolls, and what not. Going to the kitchen, she quickly packed some fruit in a bag, telling herself she wouldn't take their food tonight, and then looked around, seeing if there was anything else she wanted.

Besides clothes and food, Sakura packed up necessities from the bathroom, such as tooth brush, tooth paste, shampoo, and other things like that, and her photo album, though she told herself she would take out most of them once she had time to settle in.

It was around 4:00 when Sakura decided she was done, and she used a teleportation jutsu to appear outside of the gates, in the forest. She had dropped her henge once arriving the house, and she didn't really need to waste any more chakra making another one.

So once Sakura hit the road, she knew she was prepared, no matter what was thrown her way. Sakura ran speedily, never stopping until she reached the border of Leaf and Sound, and afterwards, she decreased her pace.

Only half an hour left until she reached the village.

* * *

Ino didn't know why she was so intent on crying the moment she heard the little girl say Saki and Sasuke looked like a couple. At least, she kept telling herself she didn't.

Either way, she couldn't help but feel Saki's attempts to seduce Sasuke and make him hers was rather useless. Sasuke didn't like fan girls, she understood now, and he had only fallen for Sakura because he saw something deeper inside of her. Saki would never end up with Sasuke. Of course, she would never be the one to tell Saki that. She'd only throw a fit, like she had already done so with so many people.

Though she enjoyed Saki's company every once in a while, especially when shopping, she couldn't help but feel something was missing. Initially, Ino was to go and search for Sasuke to make sure he was okay, but now, she found herself in her room, hugging her pillow tightly. She was thinking...

It seemed she was doing a lot of that lately. With Sakura's death, and then her probable 'not death', and then the Saki and Sasuke 'couple' thing. The problems only seemed to be stacking up in her opinion. It seemed Sakura's death affected a lot more than anyone would have imagined.

A pang of hurt went through Ino's body, sending shivers down her spine. She still couldn't get used to saying Sakura was dead. Everytime she did, she would space out, recalling memories of when she and Sakura had gotten in a fight... she wished she could take those back, and tell Sakura how much she truly cared for her. If only Ino would have known Sakura would have died at the early age of twenty... She would have done so many things differently.

She would have given up on Sasuke at age 13.

She would have stopped teasing Sakura about her forehead.

She would have accepted Sakura as a good rival.

She would have spent every possible day with Sakura.

She would have reminded Sakura that she would always be her best friend for life.

_'Best friend till death huh?' _Ino frowned, remembering the time she had given Sakura the red ribbon for her hair. She wished she could relive those days... or at least one of those days... to take in and remember what it was like having Sakura alongside her once again.

_'Time flies fast.' _she thought bitterly. It seemed like just yesterday she, Hinata, Sakura, and TenTen were having sleep overs here every other week, complaining about how Chouji would never stop eating, Kakashi was always late, Gai and Lee were weird, and Shino was scary. Those, were truly the days.

But now... what happened?

It seemed Hinata was avoiding her. Last night she had noticed it wasn't her she was avoiding, but Saki. She still couldn't understand why though.

After the whole meeting at her apartment, Sai hadn't come out from his own apartment either... Sasuke was probably even more withdrawn then in their Genin days, and Saki would never stop talking about how she and Sasuke would get married and have cute little Uchiha babies...

It really did seems the problems never stopped stacking up... Why was it she was barely noticing all these problems around her?

* * *

Sakura looked around, remembering this place all too well....

_'Field of sun flowers huh?' _she inhaled deeply, remembering this had been where she nearly died. To this day she still couldn't believe she was alive. This wouldn't be short from being called a miracle.

So once Sakura knew she was nearing the village, she took off the Akatsuki cloak, and sealed it in a scroll. She didn't need to have the villagers running away from her at the mere sight of a simple cloud.

It was chilly, Sakura had to admit, without the cloak. Only a long-sleeve and a fish-net wouldn't do much, now that she was outside, in the snow. Though the sun had melted some away, it wasn't nearly enough. Sakura's feet were freezing, to say the least. Next time she sneaked into Konoha, she would have to buy ninja boots that were good for the snow. She couldn't take much of that. But then again, it wasn't like she was a ninja anymore. Ex-ninja was more like it.

Walking a little further down the field of now dead sun flowers, Sakura heard giggling. She could already remember who's laugh that was all too well. After all, she ahd been impersonating her about 2 hours ago. So when Sakura approached them, she couldn't even hide her excitement.

"Mind if I join?"

Suki and Suzuki literally froze in place. They had been making snow angels on a flat area.

They got up, rubbing the snow off of each other, and when they realized who it was, they couldn't hide their excitement either.

"SAKURA-NEECHAN!" they had literally pounced on her, and unlike last time, Sakura was able to hold her ground against her two adorable munchkins.

"Yup, it's me all right." Sakura smiled, ruffling their hair lovingly.

"There's so much we have to catch up on." Suki said, giggling tremendously.

"Ahh, yes, I agree. But how about we get out of the snow and you girls take me to your mom? We should get cozy first." Sakura suggested.

The girls quickly got off of Sakura, grabbed either one of her hands, and literally pulled her forward.

Sakura smiled. Yes, she was home alright.

**End of Chapter**


	8. New

**Disclaimer: DON'T OWN**

**Chapter 8: New Home, New Life**

Ino was shocked to find she had fallen asleep doing all her thinking. Looking at the digital clock beside her, she found it read 5:00. She must have fallen asleep at 11:30, or something. Maybe all this thinking was really hurting her head? Nah, it was probably that all the thinking the previous days had hardly given her any at all, and she cracked under all the sleep she hadn't gotten.

Standing up and looking out her window, she realized it was already dark out. Winters always did make the days shorter. Sighing, she got up and stretched. She realized she never actually checked on Sasuke. Knowing the stubborn and defiant person he was, Ino was almost sure he hadn't gone to the hospital to get himself checked, or healed for that matter.

Ino sighed.

It was up to her to make sure he didn't die from blood loss. How'd she know that? Sasuke scared off every other girl he hadn't known from his Genin days, such as TenTen and Temari, and meek little medics wouldn't be any different. Ino was the only one who had truly been able to put up with Sasuke; she blamed spending too much time with Sakura.

Sakura had always talked about Sasuke as if he were a regular person, not the sole survivor of the Uchiha Clan, said to be the most powerful of the new generation, and destined for great things, like every other adult had. To Sakura, Sasuke had been a guy; not that kind, but he had this sort of warmth about him. Ino had only seen that side of Sasuke, considering Sakura would never put up with it if her best friend thought so otherwise about her boyfriend. Sakura would share many things to Ino about said Uchiha.

But thinking where he could probably be at night, she was at a loss. No one besides Sakura ever knew where to find him. Most people gave up after checking with Naruto at Ichiraku's, and the training grounds.

_'Hmm... maybe he's...._' Ino didn't even finish her thoughts as she threw on a purple coat and her boots and left her apartment. Opening the door, Ino shuttered as a gust of cold wind hit her face like a ton of bricks. Oh how she missed those warm, summer days, filled with blooming flowers and such. She wasn't much of a winter type, though she did indeed, love Christmas, not that this one would be all that jolly, seeing as it was missing a certain someone.

First off, Ino checked the daily places where it was common to spot him, such as Ichiraku's, and training grounds. After not seeing him, she went to go look for Naruto, to see if maybe he knew Sasuke's whereabouts. She found him walking in the park, towards Hinata. Oddly enough, Ino found Hinata talking about a certain small little girl. It sounded awfully like the young girl she and Saki had met at the gates, and Naruto had mentioned he had seen her at Ichiraku's while he had been eating ramen with Sasuke.

Trying to focus, she then started heading to the Uchiha Compound, trying to ignore the chill going up her spine. She had a feeling that she might find him there...........

And she did,

On the roof of his house, star-gazing, more specifically.

She made sure her presence was known by not hiding her chakra or anything. Sasuke had only glanced back for 2 seconds to acknowledge her presence, and so she took that as a sign to approach him.

"Hey" she was almost hesitant in starting small talk with him.

Sasuke didn't reply.

Ino sighed. "Okay let's get down to business. I'm supposed to make sure you're fine, and your injuries won't get infected or anything." Ino dead-panned.

Sasuke half-glanced at her, taking his eyes away from the starts above. "No one is stopping you." he muttered.

Ino was almost taken-aback by his words. She'd never thought it would be so easy to convince Sasuke to let a medic examine him, let alone a medic who _wasn't _Sakura. "R-Right here?" Ino asked.

"Why not?" he muttered.

"Cuz it's _cold._" Ino said bluntly.

"A little breeze won't kill anyone." Sasuke took off his shirt. It almost seemed like he _wanted _to freeze to death. Who knows... maybe he did.

Ino was alarmed by his sudden action, and she took of her gloves hurriedly. She had to heal him quickly, before he froze. Her hands went directly to his abdomen, where she could discreetly see a rib out of place. Years of training to be a medic were finally paying off. She didn't even need to examine a patient to see whether they had broken bones.

Ino started mending his ribs, all the while trying to keep him warm by spreading her chakra through out his chest.

"You know, we could have easily done this inside." Ino glared at nothing in particular.

"Why do you insist on talking?" Sasuke snapped, obviously annoyed.

"Because that's what keeps me distracted." Ino glared. "Haven't you realized all trained medics tend to start small-talk with their patients while healing deep wounds?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Does it look like I let just _anyone _heal me?" he retorted.

"When a medic heals _Naruto _then_?_" she rolled her eyes.

"Hn"

"My point exactly"

There was a small silence.... "Distraction from what?"

Ino rolled her eyes once again. "I thought you didn't want any small talk?" she retorted.

"Good distraction against the cold."

Ino stopped healing him and looked up with an incredulous look on her face. "My point exactly you dumb-ass!" she growled.

Sasuke huffed and turned the other direction. He had obviously never been talked like that before. The only people to ever say that about him were Naruto, Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura...

Minutes passed with complete silence.

"To answer your question, if medics focus too much on their work they tend to overdue it and waste more chakra, and that gives them horrible images of the patients true condition. That's why I said, only trained medics do it. Lesser medics never have to handle bad injuries, and they need to make sure they don't mess up of the injured person. When you talk, the chakra you use is less forced, and it comes out more naturally, so you give the patient just enough." Ino finally spoke up. The tense silence was just too much for her.

"Ahh" was Sasuke's short reply.

"Put your shirt back on, I'm done with your chest." Ino muttered, taking her eyes away from his body and leaning back. She hadn't noticed she had leaned in very close to him while healing him.

Sasuke didn't reply, but he gladly put his shirt back on, savoring the warmth.

Ino gave him a one-over look, examining his body closely. "If your pants weren't so baggy I'd say you broke a bone in your leg slightly." Ino said.

"Hn"

Ino was waiting patiently for him to stand up and go inside, where he could change into shorts or something for her to heal his foot. He didn't stand up though, so Ino got the impression he didn't plan on going anywhere any time soon. So initially, Ino just sighed and sat down beside him, knees up while she hugged her legs close to her chest.

"How'd you know you would find me here?" Sasuke broke the silence after several minutes flew by.

"Huh?" Ino found it unbelievable he was actually talking to her. "Oh, I always thought you would like watching the sky, I don't know." Ino shrugged. "And what better place to do it than the comfort of your own home, right?" Ino tried to show a smile... she couldn't though, oddly enough.

Sasuke tried not to stare at her oddly, but he did anyway.

"And I don't suppose you told Saki where to find me, did you?" Sasuke's voice seemed to fill with anger at the mention of her name.

Ino laughed. "She might be my best friend, but I know you absolutely dislike her, Sasuke. I wouldn't tell her if it made you _that_ uncomfortable."

There was more silence, but this time, it wasn't an awkward silence, much to Ino's great pleasure. She couldn't take awkward silences, much like Sakura couldn't either. One of the very few things they both had in common, no matter how big of friends they were.

"You're still feeling down, aren't you?" Ino frowned, leaning back on the snow-filled roof.

Sasuke turned back. "How do you expect me not to? I was ready to _marry her_." Sasuke scowled, his hand reaching for his pocket. He fingered something in there, before pulling it out.

"You have it with you?" Ino asked in disbelief.

Sasuke nodded. "I bring it everywhere."

"Why don't you just return it? I know just by looking at it that it must be worth _a lot_. Maybe a year's worth of shinobi duties, full A and S-ranked missions." Ino whistled incredulously.

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow. "I can't return something more than 40 years old."

Ino's jaw dropped wide. "W-What?!" she couldn't believe her ears.

Sasuke looked ahead, almost as if ashamed or embarrassed. "It was Kaa-san's engagement ring."

"Oh my god Sasuke" Ino was shaken, her breath literally taken away from her. "Do you know how much sentimental value that has?!" she shouted, leaning forward and snatching the ring from Sasuke, holding it up and examining it closely. "Easily worth over 500,000 yen." Ino let out a whistle.

**(A/N: About $5,000)**

"What do you expect? It was Tou-san buying it." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Ino let out a hearty laugh. "You're right, clans are mighty spenders." Ino rolled her eyes, taking a closer look at the ring. "How many karats is this?" Ino asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "How should I know? I wasn't alive when Tou-san bought it. I'm not a jewel expert either."

"My estimate is around 5-6 karats." Ino chirped.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be a lot?"

Ino's mouth dropped for the second time that night. "_Of course _that's a lot. Look at a 10 karat diamond ring tomorrow and tell me how many years it'll take a regular person to pay that off!" she scoffed angrily. There was about 30 seconds of silence until Ino spoke up again.

"But anyway," Ino sighed, holding out her hand and giving Sasuke the ring. "Hold on to that closely. Any girl will be lucky to just get their hands on it." Ino said dreamily.

Sasuke looked back and forth between the ring, and Ino, before he tossed it back harshly. "Keep it"

Ino, alarmed, missed the small object, and almost fell off the roof trying to catch it. "_Are you nuts?!" _she shouted harshly, trying to balance herself before she fell off. Once she did, she settled herself back on the spot next to Sasuke, a small, unnoticeable blush on her face. "How could I possibly accept this?!"

"I don't plan on giving it to anybody else. It'd be a waste." Sasuke shrugged.

Ino glared harshly at him, before punching him harshly. "You idiot! How are you supposed to revive your clan, _you're greatest ambition_, **without a wife?!"**Ino seemed outraged, grabbing his hand and stuffing the ring in it, before making him clasp it tightly.

Sasuke looked shocked for a second. "How did you kno-"

"Oh please Sasuke, I wasn't born yesterday. Sakura made it clear she would never be with a guy who took revenge before a family. Since you were obviously about to propose, it meant you made up your mind." Ino rolled her eyes.

"Yeah but-"

"But nothing." Ino retorted. "I'm sure you can find someone else out there. It's a big world Sasuke." Ino's tone seemed to have changed, a hint of sadness in them. "After all, I'm sure you believe in reincarnation. Sakura will be back." Ino sighed.

"Yeah, in the next life, not now." Sasuke held back the need to roll his eyes.

Ino pouted, punching him playfully on the arm. "You can make a lot of girls happy with that ring, and every other wonderful aspect about you Sasuke. Don't let this man hunk go to waste." she laughed, though as soon as she did stop laughing, her smile was replaced with a frown. She could feel deep inside her she was mostly saying that out of selfishness.

"Girls like who?" Sasuke questioned. "Saki?" he continued, scoffing.

"I don't know Sasuke!" Ino shook her head, her eyes filled with sorrow. "There are plenty of girls in this world. Sometimes you just gotta look within to find something good, you know?" Ino said dreamily, staring at the sky.

Sasuke held back the need to roll his eyes. "You're just saying that. Girls and their 'happily ever after' endings." he shook his head in disapprovement. "The world is a cruel place..." he learned that the hard way, having been deprived of everything a normal person would have, like a family, and love.

"That doesn't mean we should give up on our search for a good life." Ino noted.

Sasuke's eye twitched slightly. "What are you even doing here?" he snapped, trying to change the subject; he didn't want to talk about searching for happiness any longer. He had been trying to do that already, for **_13 years, _**and at some point, he had found it.... but now it was all gone... he was tired of searching already.

Ino glared slightly, shrugging. "I thought you'd like some company, is all."

"Since when do I ever need company?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Everyone needs company." Ino scoffed, punching his shoulder lightly. "It's just the matter if you choose to have it or not." she said simply.

"And if I choose not to have it?" he questioned.

Ino pouted. "Well then," Ino sighed, getting up and wiping the snow off of her as she continued speaking. "I have no right to deprive you of your solitude." she turned around and started walking away.

She didn't know why she expected, or more so hoped, he would stop her from leaving. She was about ready to jump off the roof when his reply came.

"You're right, you have no right."

Ino glared at the falling snowflakes. Jeez, he didn't need to rub it in.

"But I guess a little company which doesn't include Naruto is better than nothing."

Ino felt a smile apear on her features as she turned around. Her smile was replaced by a smug smirk seconds afterwards, her hands on her hips. "I knew you couldn't resist the thought of not being alone for once." she giggled.

Sasuke merely glared, as if that was all he needed to say, or...err, do.

"How about we go inside so I can heal your leg? I _know _it's been bothering you for a while."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Oh come on!" Ino pouted. "I know you're probably even colder and less-emotional than the snow around us but it's _gotta _hurt. Besides, it wouldn't kill us to get warm and have some hot cocoa, would it?" Ino suggested.

Sasuke grumbled incoherent words before finally deciding to get up. Ino walked to his side and grabbed his shoulders for support as they descended and jumped off the roof. "I can walk perfectly fine. How do you think I got up here?" Sasuke glared once inside.

"We don't need you injuring your leg any more, now do we?" Ino smirked.

Sasuke didn't talk for the rest of the time, while Ino started looking through his kitchen, searching for cocoa.

* * *

"Sakura, is that really you?"

Sakura was almost tackled to the floor by the warm hug she received, once inside the small home. Wow, Sera was definitely their mother, Sakura thought, staring at Suzumi and Suki.

"Yes, it's me." Sakura assured, giggling lightly as she returned the hug.

"It's been too long! We really must catch up." Sera insisted, pulling Sakura inside -her two daughters trailing seconds behind- as she closed the door and started brewing tea.

"There really isn't much _to _catch up on." Sakura insisted. She really couldn't tell them the most dangerous organization that ever lived took her in and helped her until she was fully recovered, could she?

"You've been gone for a week and a half darling; nonsense!" Sera dismissed. "There must have been plenty to go on! Did you make it back safely? Did you tell everyone what that girl did?" Sera bombarded her with questions.

Sakura frowned. "There's a long story to that." Sakura insisted.

"Well I've got all day dear." Sera smiled eagerly, placing four tea cups on the table and filling them with tea.

"Well... I...." There was a long silence. She didn't really know where to begin. "It took me two days to get back to Konoha." she finally began. "But when I did arrive... I saw Saki kissing my boyfriend."

The room went deadly quiet all of a sudden, and the atmosphere completely changed.

"She told me they all forgot about me already. And for the most part, it was true. I even heard them myself......There was only one person, my best friend Hinata, who still seemed to worry about me." Sakura sighed.

"Oh my" Sera gasped, pulling her hands to her mouth in shock. "Where have you stayed this past week? Surely you didn't stay there with them, I mean...." Sera trailed off.

Sakura shook her head. "They don't know I'm alive." Sakura assured. "When I found out my name held no meaning in their life, I left. I was found by.... a group of ninja, and at first, their initial plan was to kill me, and take the bounty for my head."

Suzumi and Suki were the ones to gasp now, though Sera looked fairly surprised.

"They wanted me to heal them first though, and I told them I couldn't, because Saki had sealed off my chakra." Sakura sighed, recalling the past events. "They found out that my chakra would return to me in 3 days, and they decided they would rather wait. But after those three days.... I managed to... befriend them, you could say. Afterwards, they didn't want to get rid of me, so they just... let me go." Sakura shrugged.

"And then?" Suzumi asked.

"And then I traveled back to Konoha to get my stuff, and then I came back here to pay you all a visit." Sakura smiled, pointing to her stuff, which she had placed on the floor, next to her chair.

"And what are your plans now?" Sera asked.

Sakura shook her head, as if saying she didn't know. "I came here to thank you for all you have done for me." Sakura barely took her tea in her hand, taking a quick sip. "Because of you, I am still alive, and even though my plans did not turn out as planned, I am grateful." Sakura said.

"Sakura..." Sera said sadly. She really wished she could do more for the girl. She got a brilliant idea just then. "You say you have nowhere to go, right?" Sera asked.

Sakura nodded. "I was planning to settle down somewhere I could start a new life." Sakura confirmed.

"Why not live with us?" Sera suggested, smiling gleefully.

Sakura smiled gratefully. "But there is no room." she shook her head.

"You can stay here while we build another home for you." Suki exclaimed, smiling brightly.

"But I-"

"Nonsense!" Sera dismissed. "It's settled, you're staying!"

And that was the end of that, considering Sera held no room for arguments. Sakura was entirely grateful things went as planned. Sera was much too kind a person to let this pass by her.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality Sera." Sakura hugged her briefly.

Sera laughed heartily. "It's no big deal. After all, I'm sure the kids will be ecstatic to hear."

Suzumi and Suki nodded. "We'll tell everyone we know! Then everyone will pitch in to help build your home!" Suzumi beamed brightly.

"Oh, I don't believe that'll be necessary." And that was all Sakura said, for she did not want to ruin the surprise.

After all, she doubted any of these villagers had ever seen true jutsus being done, so what would their reaction be, seeing 20 Sakura's building a house? Yeah, they would probably freak... but in a good way, of course.

* * *

"Yeah, and when Sasuke turned his Sharingan on, she completely disappeared. She must have been creeped out." Naruto frowned, sitting down next to Hinata.

"That m-must've been when I-I knocked her down a-accidentally." Hinata replied as she remembered when she bumped into Suzuki.

"Wow, Sasuke-teme must have really scared her. She was gone in a flash." Naruto exclaimed.

Hinata contemplated the answer. When she had asked Suzuki what was wrong, she had said she was in need of a friend.... Maybe what Sasuke had done, or what they had been talking about, had spooked her, and she needed a friend to comfort her..... It didn't quite add up in her perspective though...

"She'll sure be a good ninja!" he added afterwards.

Hinata smiled. She wanted to be a ninja just like her... that sounded nice... Hinata had never been looked up at by a younger child before, besides Moegi, ever since she had seen Hinata have some harsh training with Kiba. The fact that she was now with Naruto sort of added to that too, but whatever.

"Yes... I'm sure she will be." Hinata said quietly, mostly to herself.

She didn't exactly now why, but something about Suzuki reminded her _so much of Sakura. _Hinata found that really odd though, considering she was 20, and Suzuki was what, 6? The thought of imagining her best friend as a 6-year-old seemed kind of odd. But then again, age didn't matter, did it? It didn't matter what other people thought about the people she liked. People had always thought she was crazy because she liked Naruto when they were younger... ha, now look at him now. Loved by everyone, and on his way to be the future Hokage.

_'Who's laughing now?! Cha!__' _a giddy little thought popper in her mind. Wow, she was even starting to sound like Sakura too.

Maybe Suzuki had been right... Maybe if she always remembered Sakura for the true wonderful person she had been, Sakura would never truly be gone.

_'Yes... Sakura will always be with me.' _Hinata smiled as she stared at the sky for a few moments.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked her after several minutes. For the most part, he had been too shocked by her beauty and kind smile to actually say anything. Sometimes, he truly wondered what she'd think about when she got those absolutely mesmerizing smiles with her bright, pearly white eyes.

She looked back down at him and smiled. "Just remembering good advice."

* * *

"There, all done." Ino smiled proudly as she looked at the nice handy work. She was seriously improving on healing those complex bone fractures if you ask her. Of course, Sakura's advice had been _gold _for improving her techniques, just like the whole 'keep talking to your client' crap. At first, she hadn't believed her and decided not to do it, but after she saw how efficiently Sakura worked when doing so, well... she decided it wouldn't _kill_ _her_ to try.

"Hn" Sasuke muttered, somewhat as a thank you, but not really.

"You know," Ino began as she leaned back and drank her hot cocoa, "It wouldn't kill you to say real words every now and then." Ino said, looking at her cup with a small amused smile on her face. "Well, maybe it might." she stifled a laugh.

Sasuke glared. "I find words useless unless verbalizing for something of importance." he replied.

"And socializing so you don't look like such an outcast isn't important?" Ino raised an eyebrow.

"I hardly care about what people think of me." he tried not to show his scoff.

"Of course you don't." Ino rolled your eyes. "You're freaken Sasuke _Uchiha_. Give them a glare and they're cursed for life. Stand up straight and don't crack a smile and your perfect in their eyes." Ino tried hard not to show her anger. He made it look so easy to be perfect, mighty, and smart. It had taken her a lot of hard work and effort to get to the stature she was at now, and still, it looked like a bread crumb compared to all Sasuke had accomplished.

"Not of any importance." he dismissed. "People are people, and I rather not get involved with their life."

"Of course you wouldn't." Ino laughed. "You do, and your world might as well be filled with shrills, shrieks, and a load of drama."

"Exactly." Sasuke frowned. People didn't get it: Sometimes, it was hard to be so popular and wanted all the time. Other times, like for being chosen for pricey missions, it was rather nice, considering he was _bound _to get chosen half time, the only exceptions being Neji, Shikamaru, Shino, and occasionally, Naruto and Sakura, considering Naruto was one of the most powerful people in Konoha, what with his almost unlimited chakra, and Sakura with her brute force and exceptionally knowledge in the field of healing.

Ino frowned. Getting Sasuke to socialize was much harder than she thought. And she already imagined it to be near impossible. He'd only speak a few sentences before sealing his mouth shut again. But still, it was worth a shot. She was getting him to start opening up, so it was a start. Besides, how many people could truly say that had a nice, lengthy conversation with Sasuke Uchiha? And no, Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura didn't count... and neither did mission reports. Counting, this would be considered Ino's third full-length conversation... sort of.

The first had been at Ino's apartment, while arguing profoundly, the second was up on the roof several minutes ago, and the third, now, even though it hadn't been as long as the others. Still, it was one of her personal best, considering any other times she would try to strike up a conversation with Sasuke he'd reply 'Hn' twice and then walk away.

...It was like talking to a wall...

Hell, even Neji made better conversation that Sasuke, for he at least made eye contact with you while you spoke... though most of the time, he was glaring, muttering under his breath he didn't have time to be with a nuisance, and he had better things to do. And if the occasion ever came up, he would curse fate for crossing paths with said person. But still, better than Sasuke.

He'd stare somewhere off into space while you spoke, making it seem like he hadn't heard a word you said. And then he gave a small hum as a reply for whatever you had previously said/asked, before he walked away. And the worst part of it all, was that you couldn't even understand whether the 'Hn' had been a yes, no, maybe, or a completely other reply.

"I don't even know why I bother." Ino sighed, mostly commenting to herself.

"Hn"

There we go again with those _damn _monosyllable words.... it was so famous with the damn Uchiha, it was probably found in the dictionary. It's meaning: the phrase most often used by Uchihas, or more specifically, Sasuke Uchiha.

"Well, if you're going to turn all "Hn" on me again, I don't see why I should put up with it." Ino stood up slowly, placing her cup on a nearby table. "I'll be going now. Try not to let yourself freeze to death if you decide to go outside again." Ino sighed for what could have been the hundredth time that day, and went towards the door. She hovered over it, as if hesitant to leave.

"Good night Sasuke. Have a nice day." she opened the door and left.

..... No, Sasuke didn't reply with his monotone-d phrase. He just stared after her, until the door was closed, and she was blocked from his view.

* * *

"You know, I expected them to be shocked, scared maybe, but..." Sakura sweat dropped, as Suki and Suzuki, and several other children, started ganging up one the poor, 4 Sakura clones. Standing alongside her was Sera, a somewhat amused smile plastered on her face.

"They would be scared if you were any other person." Sera admitted. "But, you're Sakura, and you're like a big sister to them, so they really have nothing to worry about." Sera let out a hearty laugh.

"Okay!" one of the Sakura clones shouted excitedly, making the children stop and listen.

"Who's ready to build a new home!" another clone shouted, lifting a fist up in the air in eagerness.

"HAI!" the rest of the Sakura clones, and the children shouted eagerly as they dashed off to who knows where.

".....do we even know where to build...?" the real, and most reasonable Sakura asked Sera after she found no one else around her. It seemed every munchkin and Sakura had scattered off...

Sera laughed. "We don't have many materials or money, but one thing we do have is space." And yes, it was true, for the most part. They lived in the forest... they could just chop off a few trees and tah-dah, your new living area. "This place over there was recently cut down because the trees were used for furniture. It's a quite lovely area though." Sera pointed to a small area.

"Won't the people mind?" Sakura asked.

"Nonsense! After they see what you can do, they'll welcome you as part of our own! Besides, look, it's only 2 houses down from my own!"

Sakura sweat dropped... she had a feeling Sera only picked that spot because it was the closest to her house... "Well then," Sakura smiled widely as she rolled up the sleeved of her black long-sleeve, "I think it's time I show people what Sakura Haruno can do."

* * *

"I never thought building a cottage could be so exhausting." Sakura frowned as she entered the bath house with her now, two favorite younger sisters, Suki, and Suzuki. Sera was following shortly behind.

"You can't expect to have it all done in one day dear." Sera explained. "You've already out done yourself... it will be finished at least 7 days earlier than any other home."

"Yeah, but I also need to design the interior, exterior.... carpeting... ughh." Sakura moaned out in frustration. This would seriously take some time... And let's not forget to mention Sakura wasn't exactly the best at building things... destroying was more of her thing anyway. Sure, she'd be able to do the foundation of the house along with the wooding... but the piping...

"I'm sure the neighbors would be more than happy to help. How do you think we built up this village?" Sera smiled warmly.

"And I'm still surprised no one quit halfway done." Sakura rolled her eyes as she stepped into the hot spring and let the warm water sooth away any unwanted aches and pains.

"That's us alright." Sera laughed. "We're defiant people, Sakura. And if you want to fit in, I suggest you start adjusting."

"Oh, I'll adjust alright." Sakura smiled. "You can bet on that. It's just... well, I guess you can say I'm not much of a hands on person... I get something wrong, I get mad, and when I get mad..." Sakura didn't even finish her sentence as she got an image in her head of her breaking down her house in the midst of construction all because she couldn't hammer a nail...

Sakura sighed. "Never mind... I think it's best I get some help."

"That's the spirit." Sera said.

Sakura laughed.

**'You know, returning to Sound was probably one of the best ideas you've had.' **inner dropped a small comment. Yes, it truly was. Where would she be now if she had decided to reveal herself in Konoha, or if she had decided to stay behind in Akatsuki?

Akatsuki.... how were they doing? She guessed fine, besides Hidan, who was probably in the middle of dying right about now... she guessed the torturer now was Konan, just because she felt like it.... maybe he said another sexist comment involving night gowns... Sakura smirked, a small thought appearing in her mind.

_'....I think I'll wear a night gown tonight...'_

**Oh, and yes, if you all haven't quite figured this out, there is something going on between Ino x Sasuke... originally, i was going to let Saki end up with Sasuke, but then i sat down and started thinking... and i concluded with: SAKI DOES NOT EVEN DESERVE TO END UP WITH SASUKE AND SHE SHOULD TOTALLY DIE. **

**So yes, there will be some intended hints of Ino x Sasuke in there. (unless you all prefer SakixSasuke.... ha....) But that was mostly because I started to like Sasuke a little... D:**

**This chapter was a lot shorter than usual chapters (i believe about 1,000 words shorter) haha, but i hope you all still enjoyed it!!**

**Reviews keep fueling me, so keep at it peoplez!! Luv reviewers!! (and those who read this story over all!)**

**-Marzy-chan~~! :))**

**P.S. 30 reviews ppl! I couldn't be any more pleased!! :D keep this up, and the chapters will keep adding up too! I plan to update Sakura's Heavenly Mistake next, so be on the look out for that! Oh, and sorry it took me a while to post this up :o**


	9. Sick

**So… many people have been DYING to see Akatsuki again, so I decided, Why the hell not? X) I finally found a way to fit them in there, so I hope you all enjoy the Akatsuki-ness… oh, and many have been wondering when the ita x saku would be taking place…**

**It'll start slowly maybe this chapter, or the next, so yeah… have patience with me!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters, besides Oc's like Saki (who we all hate ;)**

**Chapter 9: Sick**

It must've been a week, Sakura told herself as she sunk to the warm, inviting water in the bathhouse. Sera hadn't been joking; most, if not all of the villagers had been more than happy to help her build her home. That was why her small house, which included a small kitchen and dining area, one bedroom, and bathroom, was now almost complete. All she needed was furniture, which she wasn't quite sure how she'd manage to get that. Still, she found it more relaxing to bathe here than the comfort of her own home, as strange as it sounded.

'_I wonder how Hinata's doing…' _Sakura couldn't help but wonder. Hinata was all she had managed to think about during this past week.

And Kisame, but that was a different story.

She wondered if he'd ever want his cloak back; the very same cloak that fit her like a blanket, if anything. Hell, she wondered if she'd even _see _him again; the chances were slim, unless they decided to search Sound for Sakura's current location; Sakura doubted it. Why would they do such a troubling thing? Sure, some of them had become rather fond of her, such as Kisame and Konan, but surely Pein wouldn't let them leave just because of that.

Deidara and Tobi had been rather enjoyable company too, when they weren't destroying something, or acting like complete idiots, that is.

And Hidan, well, she was sure there were no real hard feelings there, right? As far as she had heard, getting killed by someone wasn't an unusual thing; in fact, it was a daily occurrence for him.

And well Itachi… There wasn't really much she could say for him, though. Sure, he had saved her life and now she was forever in his debt, but she couldn't really say she had gotten to know the Uchiha that much; anytime she tried to, she had only been reminded of Sasuke, so initially, she had tried to avoid said Uchiha.

'_Curse their blood-bond.' _Sakura grimaced.

Still, she had to admit, Itachi was rather polite and almost, _kind,_ for an S-Class criminal who murdered his entire clan, who at the time, was very _big. _And not to mention he did that at age thirteen… Sakura was surprised he wasn't a total slob, impolite, and a pig.

But hell, she had been surprised to find most of them as kind as they were; you usually didn't expect as much from dangerous people who could kill with a mere glance at them, or even some… play-doh…

Sakura still found it funny; who used play-doh as a weapon? Seriously, though? Someone would have to be pretty damn creative to find the time to think up a technique like that. Surely they were not sane at the moment when thinking up this technique; drunk even.

'_It's more than I can say for inhuman strength.' _Sakura thought. Hell, for all she knew… _she _had been drunk when channeling her chakra the way she did and creating that far-fetched technique of hers.

**(A/N: By '**_**she**_**' Sakura means Tsunade ;)**

Sakura decided to stop her train of thoughts; she knew where this would lead her, and she didn't feel like going there right now. Today had started off a great day, what with her house now finally built, and hell, she wanted to keep it a great day; superb if she could make it any better.

Sakura finished her bath fairly quickly, putting on thick clothing and going outside, planning on going straight to Sera's house. She had been sleeping there for the past week now; since her house wasn't fully built, she couldn't exactly sleep on it…

The only thing she needed now was a bed; the villagers had said they'd help out with that soon enough. So until then, Sakura was still supposed to sleep at Sera's.

It was cold; colder than Sakura could ever imagine. Sound must have pretty chilly winters, Sakura noted. No wonder most, if not all of the houses had chimneys, with all of them emitting some dark smoke.

"You're back!" Sakura was immediately tackled by Suzuki once she opened the door.

Sakura smiled down at her. "Yeah, miss me much?" Sakura teased.

Suzuki blushed and turned away, pouting slightly. After a comment from Sera about how Suzuki and Suki really took after Sakura and stuck to her like glue, they had been debating they could spend time without Sakura… It was working against their favors as of due time though.

Soon enough, Sakura found herself lying on a bed in between Suzuki and Suki, sipping some hot chocolate and listening to the story of how Sera met her husband.

"Ahh, those sure were the days." Sera reminisced. "I tell you, I was _beautiful_ when I was your age Sakura." Sera commented.

Sakura laughed. "I can tell these little munchkins will take after you. They already have those gorgeous cheek bones, and small, adorable noses." Sakura refrained from pinching their little noses.

"We'll only be as pretty as you are, Sakura-neechan!" Suki laughed brightly.

"Oooh, in that case, you'll both become the most beautiful girls in Sound." Sera said heartily.

"Oh, don't over-exaggerate Sera." Sakura blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh, but it's true my dear. Not only are you beautiful on the outside, but on the inside too." Sera complimented.

"Your kindness exceeds mine by far." Sakura shook her head. "I am still indebted to you."

"Enough about debts!" Sera dismissed Sakura's comment, standing up and kissing her girls goodnight; yes, even Sakura. "Good night girls. I'll see you in the morning."

Sakura smiled warmly, closing her eyelids. Not only was she as warm as ever –what with two snuggly little girls on opposite sides of her- but she felt warm and fuzzy on the inside too.

* * *

"You can't _possibly _be serious." Kisame almost dropped his Samehada in shock.

"Does it seem like a joke?" Pein replied darkly, his hands propped up in the table while his gaze penetrated the two shinobi standing before him.

"Out there?!" Kisame complained. "Only a crazy man would go out there and travel to Sound! The blizzards just started kicking in!"

"Then I suggest you get there in due time." Pein instructed.

"Damn Orochimaru!" Kisame cursed. "Why the hell did we have to wait until **3 years** after his death to retrieve a scroll filled with _forbidden_ _jutsus_?" Kisame grumbled.

"It was a forgotten scroll; I would have never been reminded of it, had I not been interested in the revolts in Sound."

"And why are the revolts interesting?" Kisame asked.

"With no true leader, we could easily bring them to our side, so they could help us bring Konohagakure down." Pein instructed.

"Idle shinobi like those would hardly help take down a strong village." Itachi commented from the sidelines.

"True, but they serve for a good distraction." Pein agreed.

"Hn." Itachi pressed on no further. Pein's words held logic and truth, after all. "Where is the base located, exactly?" Itachi questioned.

"It's near a small village not too far from Konoha itself. The exact location of the base is unknown, so you'll have to search for it." Pein instructed.

"Are you serious?!" Kisame groaned. "So we're basically going on a wild-goose chase!" Kisame explained, obviously outraged.

"Yes, basically." Pein nodded in agreement. They were smart shinobi, why try to lie to them? Better to be blunt.

There was silence throughout the room, Itachi basically just waiting for Kisame to complain some more.

"… So… we really have to go?"

Pein would have rolled his eyes at the stupidity of the question; _of course _they had to go, yes. Why the hell would he have summoned them if it wasn't important? And seriously, he had only expected this sort of behavior from Deidara, or something like that.

"I suggest you start now, before the storm starts again."

Kisame and Itachi bowed, before promptly turning around and exiting Pein's office. What tedious work it had been, having to be woken up at night, only to find out they had to go to Sound for some stupid scroll, that was deemed so important, Pein had **completely **forgotten about it for over 3 years…

'_Important my ass.' _Kisame thought stubbornly.

"Man, I haven't even gotten my new cloak tailored." Kisame whined.

"You're at fault for giving it to the kunoichi." Itachi side-glanced for a few seconds.

"Hey, I'm sure she's made good use of it." Kisame replied. "I wonder how she's doing, anyway." Kisame pondered.

"Was she not staying at a village in Sound, nearby Konoha?" Itachi's question sounded more like a statement in Kisame's ears.

"Yeah, but what are the odds?" Kisame shrugged. "Besides, she probably has better things to do than worry about us." Kisame said. "Building up a whole new life must be tough."

Itachi's breathing pattern faltered for the slightest of seconds before it turned back to normal, his face showing no sign of his slight discomposure a second ago.

_Oh, Kisame truly had no idea._

* * *

"My bed!" Sakura squealed in delight as she fell on top of her bed; yes, _her _bed. It had been 2 days, but she had finally gotten a bed, no thanks to the villagers. Seriously, these people were like angels! They had really warmed up to Sakura. Probably the fact that Sakura was always babysitting their children, playing with them, and reading them stories helped…

Nevertheless…!

Sakura was promptly jumped on by Suzuki and Suki, and no later than a minute they were all jumping up the bed like wild monkeys.

Sakura had already painted her house; a light coffee color with a mixture of an army type of green in the dining room/kitchen.

Sakura had gotten some furniture too; a small sofa, some drawers for her clothes, a small dining set, and a night table.

Yeah, when Sakura had said they didn't have much, she had seriously underestimated their people skills. Apparently, they knew some people, who knew some people, who knew some people, who knew… well, you get the point.

So Sakura had now completed her dainty little home in record time. It wasn't big on room, but it was nice and cozy; it wasn't like she would be having guests any time soon either… besides the usual sleep over Suzuki and Suki would force her into… tonight was probably one of them…

An hour after she settled in, she found herself outside, making snowmen with the rest of the children. When Sakura accidentally had some snow hit Suzuki, and Suzuki aimed at her, but missed and got Suki, in turned out into an all-out snowball fight in no time.

'_Poor snowman… I never got his scarf.' _Sakura frowned, staring at her snowman as a snowball knocked its head off. How naked that snowman must have felt…

She didn't know why, but something about this place made her feel… whole, completely almost… but, there was a tiny part of her that still wished she had _some _form of shinobi duties; she wanted to train, to go on a mission even. And most importantly, she wanted someone her own age to talk too. Was that too much to ask for? Sakura didn't really think so…

Maybe she should go visit Hinata again, after Christmas passed.

There were only about 5 people her age in this village three boys, two girl; she hadn't really talked to any of them, and honestly, she didn't want to. She'd catch them staring at her oddly, as if fawning, before they'd turn around and blush furiously.

Umi was shy and quiet, with light purple hair and black eyes. She wore large round glasses, and was smart. Sakura hadn't really talked to her much, for it seemed for the most part, she was inside her own home.

Aya though, was really kind, smart, and pretty. Her bright orange hair shined like there was no tomorrow, and her green eyes could be identical to her own. They had talked a few times, for they had both been painting the walls of her kitchen at the time. They found they had some things in common, and a small friendship had started.

But still, it wasn't as if she could tell Aya about exhausting days at the hospital, and she'd totally agree, stating she had almost passed out from chakra depletion, now could she?

Speaking of Aya, there she was now, on the opposing team of the snowball war. Sakura smiled a devious smile; it was so on.

* * *

Kisame stared from outside the small cave at the raging snow. "Damn Pein" he cursed sourly.

Itachi didn't reply, but instead, started a fire and threw sticks in there.

"This is the stupidest idea ever." He continued his rant, not caring if Itachi was actually paying attention to him or not; he needed to vent out his feelings some way or another. And for him, this was the best way to do it.

"Perhaps" Itachi commented.

Kisame chuckled. The fact that he even bothered to _reply_ meant something; he'd rather be in his room, and he did completely agree –this was a complete absurdity in his eyes. It wasn't like anyone knew where Orochimaru's base was; couldn't they just… I don't know, _wait until winter was over_?!

"When should we set out again?" Kisame changed the subject.

Itachi looked up from the fire, and stared outside for a few seconds. "When the storm eases." Itachi promptly replied.

"You do mean _ceases_, right?" Kisame raised an eyebrow.

Itachi shook his head a fraction of an inch. "We'd be here for days." Itachi responded. "There is no guarantee it'll stop either."

"How are we supposed to make it to Sound in _that_?!" Kisame sounded outraged. He couldn't even see more than 15 feet away from the cave!

"We've lived through worse." Itachi frowned slightly.

Kisame scoffed. "That's because of your fire-affinity; you'll stay cozy no matter what." Kisame grumbled. Seriously, one of these days, Kisame would have the upper hand of having water-affinity.

…But until then…

_He was stuck with this, unfortunately._

"Winter came sooner than expected." Kisame tried to keep the conversation going; he didn't like it being completely quiet, which for the most part, sucked for him, because he had the quietest member in Akatsuki, right next to Kakuzu.

"Ahh" Itachi agreed.

"I hate winter." Kisame frowned.

"I am not particularly fond of it either." Itachi agreed.

"What's your excuse? It's not like you're _ever _cold." Kisame tried not to scoff.

Itachi didn't reply; instead, he focused on stacking the sticks next to the fire.

Kisame understood the silence; he didn't want to talk about it. Or for the most part, it wasn't something Kisame needed to know, or take importance in knowing.

"I hate it because I'm weather sensitive." Kisame said. "Yes I know, coming from humongous-saurus, it sounds crazy." Kisame grinned.

Itachi smirked.

Kisame really did have a way with words; especially when making fun of himself. His company was rather… refreshing, you could say… Somehow, it reminded him of Shisui… loud, obnoxious, funny, kind, sensitive…

"What about you? Don't you have any sort of weakness?"Kisame asked.

"No" Itachi stated.

"Ohh come on Itachi, I know that's a lie." Kisame chuckled. "No matter how skilled the shinobi, there are always flaws. That's why shinobi tactics state to make up for your flaws with your skills." Kisame nodded. "Besides, the human species is flawed; there's no such thing as a perfect being." Kisame explained.

Itachi let out a tiny little sigh. He rather disliked it when Kisame went all philosophical on him with the 'no perfect being' or 'one's strength can be your downfall' crap. If you asked him, Kisame had been spending a little too much time with… _himself._

He was learning how to avoid answering certain questions, and how to divert his attention to exclude further trouble, and even how to twist Itachi's own words so they turn around and bite him in the ass rather harshly –maybe he had taught Kisame a little too well…

Nevertheless…!

"You don't reveal ones weakness to another. Knowledge is power. Knowledge of others is weakness to one self." Itachi diverted his answer, once again.

"True, but it's not like we're enemies or anything." Kisame grinned. "I should know your weaknesses so maybe if we're in a pinch, I know when I should be of assistance to you, or when you can't handle things." Kisame explained.

"I'm capable enough to survive on my own." Itachi glanced at Kisame for a while. "I have been doing so since the age of thirteen."

Kisame almost hated how he made it sound so casual; even for him, it hurt slightly to talk about his past; after all, it wasn't the prettiest of things…

"One day, that casual-ness will get you into trouble, I swear it on my blue skin." He muttered under his breath.

"And when it does, that'll be the day I look to you for guidance." Itachi dully acknowledged.

"You better." Kisame's tone was back to teasing. "Anyway, you haven't really answered the question: diverting my attention from the ordinary question won't work on me anymore Itachi." Kisame pointed, as if for emphasis. "You should know better, you are the one who taught me after all, _Itachi_-_sensei_" Kisame teased.

Damn… why did he even try again?

"I refuse" Itachi turned his head the other way.

Kisame scowled, picking up a random stick and moving it around the fire. "Can I try guessing, then?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "I highly doubt you'll guess correctly."

Kisame looked up from the fire, a snarky grin on his features. "Is that a challenge I hear, oh wise and noble one?"

Itachi smirked; so it was one of these things again… "Why not." He pursed his lips in amusement.

There came a time in their small bond where Kisame was tired of being tricked and deceived by Itachi every time by using of his methods previously mentioned. So, they made a bet. If Kisame could find out something about Itachi from guessing, then Itachi would teach him one of his tricks, because most of the time, Itachi only used his tricks when he was trying to hide something about himself.

Of course this time, it was a little bit different, but nonetheless!

* * *

"Oh dear, they have high fevers." Sakura could tell just by looking at them.

One day away from her little sisters, and she comes by to visit to find out they've gotten very ill.

"Nothing a little tea and sleep won't fix, right?" Sera seemed worried. "There's been a recent breakout of illness in a neighboring village… I'm afraid it may have spread while delivering your furniture…" Sera said softly.

"I hear it's killed some people." Her husband spoke from the kitchen table, drinking a cup of tea.

Sera looked devastated. "N-No…" she denied. "Our little girls will not die!" Sera refused.

Sakura approached Suki and stated examining her. "Her pulse is very slow…" Sakura muttered to herself, her warm hands placed over her neck. "Has she eaten anything yet?" Sakura questioned, glancing at Sera.

Sera shook her head. "They refused to eat anything, and when I tried to make them eat, they through it up." Sera sighed.

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows, and continued examining Suki. When she was done listing her symptoms, she sent her cool green chakra inside of Suki, and began to feel around.

"It is in fact rather nasty," Sakura began, hearing Sera's voice hitch, "But it's nothing too serious if they get trained medical attention quickly." Sakura slipped on her glove after she was done examining Suki.

"But all we have in this village are regular medics; they don't know too much about serious things like these…" Sera explained.

"Well then, I guess you're lucky I'm here. I've dealt with this one before." Sakura grinned. "Do you guys have any specific area where herbs grow?" Sakura questioned.

Sera shook her head. "We're not particularly experienced in the field of medical knowledge, so we wouldn't know much…" she said.

"Well then… I'll just have to go exploring." Sakura said with a smile. She had been dying to explore around the village, but with the sudden storm, she had to real reason to go; yes, she was curious, but she didn't want to strain her body all for a little adventuring…

But now that she had a real reason to go… she obviously wouldn't turn it down. Plus, she really needed to start working out again; she didn't want to become unfit.

Sakura hastily went back to her little house, and put on her gear: a few kunai, her pouches where she usually kept her herbs, and her usual outfit. Sakura had never really explored the area around here, so she didn't exactly know what to expect… Besides, she didn't really want to unexpectedly come across another wolf… even though the chances of it happening _again _were small.

To finish things up, Sakura grabbed Kisame's Akatsuki cloak and turned it inside out, and then put it on, adjusting it a little before pulling her hair up into a small bun; it had become a habit to collect herbs with her hair up –mostly because when she began, her hair was long, and it always got in her face when trying to identify the herbs.

Sakura quickly exited her small cottage and then exited the village, examining her surroundings. She knew exactly where to find this sort of herb in Konoha; near the grassy hilltops surrounding Konoha most of the time under some shade, such as trees or boulders, but here… where exactly would those hilltops be, if they even had any? And how could she even guarantee the sort of herb she needed even grew in Sound…?

Still, it wouldn't help to try…

Sakura traveled about 25 miles off the village, and then began to look after she started seeing fields. It hadn't been as hard as Sakura thought to find the area, but then she realized it would take ages locating the herb... she was surrounded by snow here…

This might take longer than expected…

So, Sakura did the first thing that popped into her head; clones.

Sakura made around 15 clones, and then they split up, surrounding the vast area. The fields weren't big, in fact, there were about three of them surrounded by almost jungle-like forests. They almost reminded her of the Forest of Death, except, obviously not as big and deadly –this wasn't called Sound's Forest of Death, after all…

Well, she sure _hoped_ it wasn't…

Anyway…

Well into her second hour gone from the village, she received word from her clone –she had found the herbs.

Sakura sighed in gratefulness as she dispersed her clones, and got the exact location where the herbs were; lucky her, they were three miles further into the woods. Seriously, if it so happened she got lost… well, she'd rather not think about that now.

Sakura found the herbs about five minutes later, and carefully yanked them out, roots and all, and then settled them inside her pouch protectively.

As she got up, ready to return back to the village, something shiny caught her attention from several feet away from her. She squinted, the flurry snowflakes blocking her view, and then approached it steadily.

Now that she was closer, she managed to find it was a hitai-ate… from Sound, of course. Sakura tilted her head in confusion as she approached it and gently dusted it off. From the looks of it, it was very old; maybe 3-5 years old. Sakura placed it down, and studied her surroundings. As she took more of it in, she noticed scratches on trees, obviously made from kunai, and deep penetrations on the rocks, ground, and trees. Must've been from jutsus and katanas. There had obviously been a fight here, or something like that.

'_But Sound ninja… this obviously meant the one pulling the strings was…'_

Sakura swallowed a lump in her throat

Orochimaru

Sakura went through a list of hand signs and created a fire dragon that swept the whole area and melted all the snow.

Now that it was all gone, she had a better picture of all of this…

There wasn't much of a difference, but this time, Sakura could clearly see a path carved out on the ground, mostly because the trail was often used. It ended in front of two big boulders that cut the path.

'_Maybe this was…' _Sakura's thoughts trailed off as she approached the boulders and put her hands on it, sending chakra to it. _'Yup, there's definitely a seal on this…'_

Sakura sighed and turned around, walking away quickly. Whatever was in there, it was all a thing of a horrible past she didn't want to recall. Orochimaru was dead, that path hadn't been used in years, and it would forever stay hidden. She didn't need to go in and investigate, for she found no real reason to do so. Sasuke was back in Konoha, so Orochimaru held no importance to her.

Besides, she told herself sourly as she jumped on the trees and made her way back to the village, the place was probably booby-trapped like crazy. She'd never be able to go in, investigate, and get back out alive without a team. So it was practically a waste of her time to do so anyway.

'_I have what I came for, and that's all I need to know.'_

* * *

"I don't see why we can't just rent a room at the nearby village." Kisame retorted, placing his Samehada down against the wall of the cave.

"We'd be easily spotted and recognized."

"Not if we put up a henge." Kisame shrugged. "I'll make myself non-bluish, and cut myself off about a foot; normal as can be." Kisame grinned. "And you…" Kisame examined Itachi, who merely glanced at him. His grin got even wider. "Pull your hair down and put a kimono on; you'll be my… sister!"

Kisame found five kunai aimed at him not even a second later, and he had to pull his Samehada in front of him for protection. Kisame stifled a laugh. "I think I found one of your weaknesses." He almost chirped out loud.

Itachi just kept on glaring.

"You don't like being compared to a girl, nee?" Kisame had a mischievous look on his face. "Or what about questioning your sexuality?" there was a spark of interest in Kisame's eyes, and he took out a few kunai just as a precaution… you never know what could rile this little kid up.

Itachi's glare turned into a death glare, and he was seriously considering kicking the guy out. "Fish-face"

Kisame growled, and Itachi smirked. If there was anything Itachi had learned over the years of being partners with Kisame, it was that he really, **really **disliked that nick-name. Itachi had reason to believe when he was small they used to call him that, but that was just an assumption. Besides, it always got him so riled up, sort of like said comments always did; and yes, they had been past comments made by people in Konoha when he was thirteen. For the love of kami people.

Itachi. Was. _**STRAIGHT. **_No matter how much people didn't believe him…

"Itachi-neechan."

Itachi glared once more at Kisame's teasing tone.

"Face it, I have the upper hand Itachi." Kisame was pleased, and he seemed almost cocky at his advantage.

Itachi glared at Kisame, his Sharingan spinning wildly. Kisame instantly looked down at his feet, and Itachi's eyes sparked with amusement. "You were saying, Kisame?"

"It's not fair when you decide to bring your blood-line heritage into this, you know." He scowled.

"Are you not blue because of your clan's rituals?" Itachi asked.

"Yes, in that case, that's two strikes for you." Kisame stated jokingly.

"Hn" Itachi merely smirked.

Silence settled for a few minutes, until all you could hear was the small cackle of the fire, and the loud roar of the blizzard outside.

"I believe that's two for me." Kisame commented dryly.

Itachi cast him a side-glace.

"You teach me two techniques." He added.

Itachi refrained from groaning or rolling his eyes (it would be too out of character for him). If he taught Kisame any more, he'd eventually be able to read Itachi like a book! Not like an open book though… well, he sure hoped not. Seriously, Itachi never did think he would be a good teacher –Kisame obviously proved him wrong, in fact, he'd probably be too good of a teacher… his students would surpass him in a matter of weeks…

And hell, it was still a surprise to Itachi how Kisame sometimes got him so riled up, and made him show emotions he always kept inside; that was how Itachi knew Kisame was a true good friend, one he could rely on. But still, he wasn't one to sure his personal feelings and such with others, so intead, he secretly let Kisame find them out by himself.

"Either that, or you tell me some more of your weaknesses." Kisame shrugged.

Itachi stared at Kisame for a few seconds. "Techniques it is, then."

Kisame let out a short laugh. Why was it Itachi really disliked sharing anything about himself? Yes, his past wasn't exactly something you'd want to tell anyone, but it wasn't something to have locked up in a volt with a millions of people protecting it, was it? Kisame had to admit his own past surely wasn't much compared to Itachi's own, but they had quite a few similarities, his not on such a drastic level.

"I swear kid, the day you like a woman…" Kisame trailed off, too busy laughing to even finish his own sentence.

If he hadn't been too distracted, he would've seen Itachi's eye twitch profoundly, his breathing hitch in his throat, and the stick in his hand drop to the floor……

* * *

"Do you have it, my dear?" Sera almost lunged at her when she opened the door to Sera's house.

"Hai, Hai." Sakura said calmly as she reached into her cloak and opened her pouch, bringing out the herb. "Everything else is as easy as pie from here." Sakura assured Sera.

"Oh thank Kami," Sera sighed in relief, a hand over her heart, as if trying to calm herself, "I don't know what I would've done if…" she couldn't even finish her sentence.

"Oh, I wouldn't let anything happen to these little ones." Sakura's gaze settled on Suzuki and Suki, who were laying on the bed, their faces flushed and sweaty. "I should get to work…" Sakura muttered, going to the kitchen and grabbing a knife. Sakura first pulled out the roots and carefully rinsed them with warm water.

"The surprising this about this herb is, the roots contain a poison lethal enough to kill if you extract even the tiniest portion too much." Sakura explained, rinsing the roots carefully. "And yet, if you have the right amount, it's efficient enough to rid your system of any disease." Sakura explained. "Of course, medics often found the poison too bitter and horrid to actually digest so they'd throw it up minutes later, so first, they turned to needles," Sakura began to cut off the leaves with the knife, "but it resulted horribly; the needle's tip somehow reacts with the poison, and once injected, you're almost assured death by the minimum time of two hours." Sakura explained. Sera just looked closely as Sakura began to slowly cut around the roots, amazed by all of Sakura's medical knowledge.

"And yet, the solution for this was right under our noses." Sakura said as she began to heat up water in a kettle. "By mixing the poison with some regular herbal tea, it became sustainable enough to digest by the human body, though it still tastes rather bitter." Sakura explained. After the tea was done, she poured them into two cups, and then cut tiny roots from the herb.

"And now here comes the small difficulty for some medics; most forget they must have the amount of poison proportioned to the size and age of the patient; obviously since these are small girls, their immune system is not as strong as a full-fledged adult's would be, so they hardly need any." Sakura said, as she grabbed the tiniest of the roots and squeezed it dry with her inhuman strength. Two drops of a purple liquid got dropped into the brewed tea, and Sakura set that cup aside.

"And a little more for the elder of the two…" Sakura muttered out loud to herself, letting two drops, and a tiny little pinch more into the second cup. "Now add a spoonful of sugar for the taste…" Sakura took out the sugar and poured the sugar.

"And voila! A remedy for their illness." Sakura smiled gingerly as she handed Sera the cups of tea. "If you will excuse me, I should probably properly conserve this herb so we shouldn't come up with this problem again." Sakura smiled, washing her hands thoroughly with warm water, and then wrapping the herb in a few wrappings, before stuffing it back in her pouch.

"Oh dear, thank you Sakura!" Sera look relieved as she moved to Suki and Sera.

"Don't mention it." Sakura smiled. "Now remember, Suki's cup is the light green tea cup, and Suzuki's is the peach one. Do _not _get them mixed up or the results could be disastrous, or at least much more troublesome to cure." Sakura sighed.

Sera nodded, and helped the girls up.

"Sakura-neechan…" Suki said in between heavy pants. "Y-You're leaving?" she weakly tried to cup her hands around the tea cup. Damn, it was already taking effect on them… good thing Sakura was the herb as soon as she did…

"Don't worry, I'll be back in a few minutes girls…" Sakura looked at them endearingly before she pulled on the Akatsuki cloak once again and made her way to her cottage next door.

Once she entered, she made sure she pulled the plant out, and planted it in an empty flower pot.

'_I knew there was a reason I wanted to buy an extra bunch of these.' _Sakura thought appreciative as she planted the herb in there.

'**You're lucky I reminded you about it.' **Inner Sakura mentally nodded up and down, trying to sound all wise.

Sakura glared at a random item in the room, putting the flower pout back in the kitchen and pouring a small amount of water on it.

'_You didn't even remind me, bull shit inner.' _Sakura scowled.

'…………' inner gave her a solemn look, but said nothing, and then exited the imaginary door to Sakura's mind.

Sakura chuckled, and then got ready to return back to Sera's cottage. _'Sorry inner, still love ya~!' _Sakura thought in a sing-song voice as she exited her house.

Inner never replied…

----

"Have they drunken everything?" Sakura asked as she entered Sera's house once again.

"Every last drop with a little effort." Sera nodded.

"Good" Sakura smiled gingerly, ruffling Suzuki's and Suki's hair lovingly, while they merely pouted. "The poison should start taking effect in a couple of hours, though they'll feel good enough to walk by tomorrow." Sakura instructed.

"A whole day?" Suzuki frowned.

"It's better than never walking at all, isn't it?" Sakura pinched their noses teasingly.

"Of course it is." Sera nodded.

"Sera, you should tell the other villagers you know, if there's anyone else who's sick…" Sakura trailed off.

"Oh, yes, most certainly. I doubt they're the only ones who've gotten ill." Sera nodded. "I'll go straight away." Sera quickly rushed into her room and came back out with a heavy coat. "I'll be taking off for a few minutes." Sera said loudly before exiting.

Sakura sighed once Sera left. "Look at the handful of trouble you guys turned out to be. I have no option but to kick your butts at a snowball war when you get better." Sakura faked a scowl, and Suki and Suzuki giggled lightly before lying back down.

"Go to sleep now, so you'll get better faster, nee?" Sakura suggested as she tucked the girls in kissed their foreheads.

"Can you tell us a bedtime story, Sakura-neechan?" Suzuki peered from under the covers.

"Etoo…" Sakura trailed off, a finger on her chin as she began to think of all the stories she knew. "I'm not too experienced with bedtime stories, but I'll have a go at it, how's that?" Sakura smiled.

Both girls nodded and got ready to hear Sakura's story.

"Umm… there once was a princess who lived in a far away land…-" Sakura began.

"Was she pretty?" Suki cut in.

"What?"

"Was the princess pretty?" she asked.

"Ahh yes, the princess was very pretty, with long…" Sakura trailed off, thinking of a hair color.

"Pink hair!" Suzuki exclaimed.

"Yeah, and green eyes." Suki giggled.

"Alright, alright, and her name was-"

"Sakura!" they didn't even let her finish her sentence.

Sakura smiled. "Who's telling the story now?" She asked them. They smiled innocently and then Sakura continued.

"The princess was very pretty, kind, and smart. She lived a happy life in her kingdom, and she was friends with _everybody._" Sakura smiled.

"But, there was a cruel girl, her step sister, who wasn't all that pretty, and had a mean, wicked heart, who didn't like Sakura." Sakura said.

'**Why the hell not?' **inner snickered, seeing Sakura's thoughts.

"And her name was Saki." Sakura continued. "So one day, Saki had had enough of Sakura, and had hired a man to kidnap and kill Sakura."

Suki and Suzuki gasped.

"The man had kidnapped Sakura like the evil step sister Saki had said, but out of the goodness of his heart, he just could not kill Sakura. Sakura was much too kind to him, and he remembered one day Sakura had employed the man when Saki had ignored him completely." Sakura continued, making everything up as she went along.

"And then, the man told Saki he had done it; he had killed Sakura, but instead, he had let her go. He had told her to flee, for if she didn't, Saki would surely have her head. And even then, Sakura thanked the kind stranger for not taking her life." Sakura said, looking down to see the girls interested in the bed time story.

"So Sakura did what she was told, and she fled. She ran, and ran, and even when her feet hurt, she ran some more. Once she had traveled far, she didn't know where she was; all she had now was her pearl necklace, which her mother had given to her right before she died, and a few golden rings she had had on herself when the man kidnapped her.

"When Sakura entered a nearby village, she noticed it was a very poor village. She pitied the people, and wished she could do something for them… surely, if she were still princess she could, but if she showed her face again in her kingdom, her sister would surely have her dead."

Sakura peered down at Suki and Suzuki, and noticed they were slowly and steadily falling asleep.

"Princess Sakura did what she could, and sold her precious belongings, excluding her necklace, and gave it to the poor people in the village, even though she hadn't eaten in days, or had decent sleep. A tall young man noticed her acts of kindness and approached her. He questioned why she would give up all her pricey and valuable items all for the sake of others. She replied, stating it was nice to be kind to others. The man nodded, and disappeared. In no time at all, the small village grew fond of her. And elderly couple gave her a home, while a nearby cottage gave her work as a baker. Sakura lived happily for several months."

"One day, while walking back home from work, she noticed a small child on the road. She seemed poor, and homeless. Sakura approached him and ask her what was wrong. She said her parents had died recently, and she was left homeless with no money or shelter. Sakura felt for the girl, and gave her her last precious item.

"This was the last thing I received from my mother before she passed away." the princess stated. "She said I'd never be alone with this, and that it'd always bring me luck, no matter in what situation I may be in. Please, take this, and pray you will receive as much luck and happiness that necklace has given me." the princess had said.

"And with that, the princess walked off, leaving the girl there." Sakura looked down once again. Suki was already fighting sleep, but Suzuki was still awake, and eager to hear the rest of the story.

"The next day, Sakura awoke to loud trumpets. She went outside, along with the rest of the village, and there she saw the same tall man and small girl she had met in her days living here. Sakura approached them, and they immediately pointed her out.

"Who were the young boy and man?" Suzuki questioned softly.

"The tall man called himself… Kisame, and the girl was… Hinata… yes, Hinata-chan." Sakura smiled gently.

"Kisame said he worked for a prince, and he had come to the village looking for a wife to become the future queen of the kingdom. Seeing how kind Princess Sakura had been, he had returned to the village and told his prince about it. Interested, the prince decided he would too, look into this kind girl his loyal servant mentioned, so he got his sister, Hinata, to investigate for him, while he disguised himself and watched from the sidelines." Sakura said.

"So, he saw how kind Princess Sakura was?" Suki asked, a small yawn escaping her.

"Yes, and he fell in love with Princess Sakura, not only for her good looks, but for her kindness and intelligence. And Princess Sakura fell in love with the prince too." Sakura smiled.

"…What was the prince's name?" Suzuki questioned.

'_Crap… I'm running out of people I like…' _Sakura sweat dropped.

"His name was… Prince… Itachi…" she finally decided on. What the hell, they'd be the only one else to hear the name, so it wouldn't matter.

"Prince… Itachi?" Suki repeated, yawning.

"Yes, so Prince Itachi came by a while later and swept Sakura off her feet, and asked her if she would marry her, and she complied eagerly. The wedding happened a short while after that, and the whole village attended to see their sweet-heart get married to the prince. Princess Sakura even got her most precious necklace back from her new little sister, Hinata-chan." Sakura smiled as she remembered Hinata.

"And they lived happily ever after?" Suzuki asked.

"Yes, they had two beautiful children named Suzuki and Suki, and she never again had to worry about her wicked step sister Saki ever again." Sakura giggled as she kissed her girls good night and they fell asleep.

Minutes later, Sera came back in, tip-toeing quietly.

"So, how'd it go?" Sakura asked, standing up from the chair she had settled in halfway through with the story.

"Hmm, it seems three other people have gotten it." Sera confirmed.

"Well then, I see I have work to do." Sakura nodded. "Mind accompanying me, Sera? I don't exactly know my way throughout the entire village." Sakura explained.

"Certainly" Sera nodded.

"Great, I just need to go get the herb once more." Sakura nodded before pulling on the cloak once more, and leaving.

"That's a pretty cloak, Sakura." Sera said.

Sakura looked down, noticing she had forgotten to put it inside out. "I, ugghh… thanks…"Sakura said unsurely. "It doesn't… remind you, of anything?" Sakura questioned.

"Not that I know of." Sera shook her head.

'_That's odd… they don't know about Akatsuki.' _Sakura thought, staring at the cloak. _'And here I was worrying my ass off.' _Sakura sighed.

"What time is it, Sera?" Sakura changed the subject as they went outside. Looking outside, it looked dark out, no thanks to the blizzard that had been going on all day.

"It's barely about to turn 4:00 p.m." Sera stated.

Sakura sweat dropped. "I just told the girls a bedtime story at 4:00 p.m.…" Sakura trailed off, stifling a laugh.

"Well, they sure must be tired then." Sera laughed our heartily.

"Still, healing the other three will take me much longer than Suzuki and Suki." Sakura sighed.

"What do you mean?" Sera asked.

"Well, like I said before, I need to equally proportion the size of the patient, plus their age, and not to mention how strong their immune system is. Since I've been around Suzuki and Suki for a long time, I already know most of this, so I knew what to cut it into, and how much to put, and all that stuff." Sakura explained.

"Ohh…" Sera trialed off.

"Okay, lead me to the youngest or elderly first. They tend to have the weaker immune systems of the bunch." Sakura explained.

"Okay then, to Watari first." Sera lead her to the right, and Sakura just followed briskly, squinting at the coldness of the storm. Heck, at least it had settled down.

**End of Chapter**

**Yaayy, finished :) I feel like the bedtime story took up most of the chapter D: actually, it took up 3 pages haha but still, I came up with an idea, and we should all thank our lovable oc's, Suki, and Suzuki haha :3**

**You'll all have to wait until next chapter, and I assure all you Itaxsaku lovers, there **_**WILL **_**be some Itaxsaku in it, I bet my life on it! :D**

**The ending of the bed time story should sort of be a little hint, of you know where I'm going with the story haha :D Oh, and here's a hint: pay close attention to the names Sakura used, and where Kisame and Itachi are currently headed ^_^ oh, and add Suki and Suzuki in there haha**

**Anyway, thnx for all reviewers!! I haven't done this yet, so I'm going to thank all for the reviews, just to show how much I really appreciate them. Numbers mean how many times you've reviewed~~! :)**

**P.S. didn't include anonymous reviews**

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**Okay! There it is! Special thanks to **_**SasoLOVE111**_**, **_**Chiruda Hyuga**_**, and **_**CrAzYaNiMeFrEaKgUrL**_** for reviewing on all chapters so far!!! Of course, every review is appreciated!**

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	10. Explanations

**Didn't I just update like a week ago? Rofl. Anyway, there wasn't that much ita x saku in here… writing up how they met took much longer than I had originally planned :/ sorry… but still, I need promise some, and there is ;) you'll just have to read to find out where.**

**Dislcaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, besides oc's**

**Chapter 10: Explanations**

Sakura was slightly drained, going back into her home and throwing off the heavy Akatsuki cloak. Sakura didn't even make it to her bed, so she just jumped on her couch and sighed right after she kicked off her ninja boots and left them by the door.

Examining their body thoroughly had taken more out of her than she had previously expected; and not to mention their immune systems weren't that good. It had taken Sakura hours to find out the equivalent poison needed to make up for the lack of nutrition and immunity most of them were lacking. Seriously, have they heard of shots and vaccines before?

Sakura shrugged it off; maybe they just didn't have enough money to afford to pay for their nutrition like that. Besides, it seemed like nothing grave ever happened around this little town, considered it was secluded, and had no visitors for the most part.

Sakura was contemplating on whether or not she should even get up and change into something more appropriate, but complied, seeing as her room would reach below zero temperatures if she didn't start a fire… Great and she didn't even have firewood.

'**That's why we learned Naruto's Shadow Clone Jutsu.' **Inner reminded her. Sakura merely grunted as she got up, stretched her fingers, and yawned.

She made a quick clone and it disappeared in a matter of seconds, throwing on Sakura's cloak as she left.

Sakura first prepared herself for bed and changed her clothes, changing into some long black sweat pants (Konan had insisted she kept them) along with a red long sleeve that went a little past her elbows with a small white circle on her back, similar to what her ninja uniform had. Afterwards she brushed her teeth, just as her clone came in with firewood and began to start the fire up.

Sakura was ready to sleep by the time her clone had started the fire. It was too cold in her room, so Sakura decided she would stay in her living room for the time being, until her house warmed up.

She didn't even notice when she fell asleep, snuggled up in Kisame's cloak though. It was a good thing the couch was nice and lengthy, and not to mention comfy too, or she'd be having back problem in the morning…

* * *

"The blizzard's delayed us an extra day." Kisame sighed. They sure were lucky all these caves kept coming up right when they needed them.

"Hn" Itachi agreed, once again starting a fire.

"What time do you suppose we'll get there?" Kisame asked, trying to see the night sky –the snow was in the way, unfortunately..

Itachi took a glance outside, as if weighing their options. "If we keep moving tonight, we should arrive sometime tomorrow between morning and mid-day." Itachi responded.

That must have been one of the longest things Itachi had ever said to him. Well, this month anyway. Whenever Itachi happened to be in a good mood, he happened to be a good person to start conversation with.

To begin with, he never got upset about your views on anything, especially _art_. That is, unless it included something about him… particularly his sexuality….

Oh, that only reminded him of the time Hidan had dared call Itachi gay. Why? Because Deidara had started talking about something _inappropriate, _and then Hidan started saying he had "banged a lot of chicks in his days", and then Konan said all the talk about sex was seriously immoral and should stop, and then Itachi agreed, and then Hidan blasted with:

"You only agree because you've never fucked a girl Itachi! For all we know, that's because you're a fucken fag!"

Oh, Kisame could still remember the exact same phrase that had almost caused Itachi to activate his Amaterasu.

Luckily, Sasori, Konan, and himself had gotten to Itachi on time, and Kisame… well, he had almost gotten Samehada on his ass too, just because of his next comment.

"So who's your lover, might it be Kisame?"

Oh wait a second, he **did **get Samehada on his ass. Everyone was too busy restraining Itachi –Deidara had joined in after the second comment- that Kisame was undoubtedly, unable to be stopped. After all, he was a seven foot tall monster on a rampage. _Of course _no one was able to stop him. Now unless Zetsu had been there, that would have been a different story.

Besides, at least Hidan could recover from his Samehada… if he was touched by Itachi's Amaterasu, well… there was no coming back to life after that. So yes, Kisame had been less threatening at that moment for either Konan, Sasori, and Deidara to care. Besides, they were only worried about Pein getting mad at them for killing a valuable member.

'_It still sucked I had to clean up his blood.' _Kisame chuckled light at the thought.

Itachi merely looked at him in confusion.

"Oh, I was just recalling the time I eradicated Hidan and totally kicked his ass."

Itachi didn't even try to show his rather masochistic smirk. It wasn't that he disliked Hidan, not at all –in fact, sometimes he could be rather entertaining, when trying to pick fights with others. But it wasn't like Hidan was on his good side either, and he greatly disliked it when Itachi was his chosen victim –still, it wasn't like Hidan would ever win in a fight, be it a verbal or physical one.

"That was very refreshing. That has certainly lightened up my foul mood for tonight."

Kisame couldn't believe he even said that… but hey, that had been a day he and Itachi had gotten a lot closer; the day their friendship bond truly started.

But there had been something in his mind for a while after that day.

_Had Itachi indeed, never been with a girl?_

It was possible –considering he killed his family at age thirteen, then disappeared completely for about five years until Pein had found him, and then their group started to expand, until it reached its full lengths.

Kisame tried not to think about it, for then he would have the sudden impulse to ask away, which would probably ruin a lot of the friendship and trust Itachi had built up for him over the years.

And if he had never been with a girl either, it would be perfectly understandable too –Kisame surely wouldn't judge him. His past was a hard one, so what if he never truly did have time for women?

Hmm. He wondered if he'd ever find out.

* * *

"Good, you're on time." Shizune didn't even look up from the tons of paper work she was doing for the hospital. Seriously, when had they stacked up so high? Usually they were always done and complete-

Oh yeah, the one to always do them was Sakura… but now, she was stuck with…

_This_

"Geez, no good morning?" Saki muttered under her breath, glaring at Shizune.

"Did you collect all the herbs I listed for you?" Shizune asked, grabbing the bottle of sake next to her and taking a swift sip. Ahh, nothing like sake in the morning; now she knew why Tsunade was so hooked on these. It sort of relieved stress in a way, and made you… mellower, you could say. Something Tsunade desperately needed in the morning. She wasn't a morning person at all, and look how she is _without _sake. She almost sent Naruto to the hospital with 34 broken bones and a fractured spine a while back when he came back from a mission early in the morning by appearing in her room as if he had become the new Hokage; he even went as far as to dress up like a toad and try to scare her, standing on a giant frog with white fog all around him.

Key word, almost… it was only 33 and a slightly chipped bone, adding up to 33 and a half. His spine had been bruised profoundly.

"Yes" Saki tried to control the anger in her voice. "I have all **493 **herbs." Still, she couldn't hide her ferocious glare. It was a good thing Shizune was looking up.

She didn't need to, frankly. She could hear it all in her voice. "Don't act like it's such a big deal. Sakura would collect twice as many as you would every other day, taking less than half the time you did. I gave you a whole day, be thankful." Shizune rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, but she's been doing that for years." Saki glared. "And what's with you comparing me to Sakura all the time?! Seriously, get over it, she's dead." Saki tried not to raise her voice.

"She's not dead." Shizune almost slammed her fists on the desk.

Saki's eyes widened a fraction of an inch. Wait… did that mean she knew Sakura was alive? Saki just kept staring at Shizune, waiting… waiting for her to yell at her, and accuse her of trying to kill Sakura…

But she didn't do anything…

She just looked at Saki with a ferocious, intense gaze. But it soon slackened, and she sighed, massaging her temples harshly. "Never mind that, report to Tsunade's, she has a mission for you."

"H-Hai…" Saki was hesitant on leaving without knowing the truth in Shizune's words, but she did so either way. If Shizune didn't know it was her who tried to make Sakura disappear, than she really didn't care.

Exiting the hospital, she sighed a big sigh of relief. "Finally, away from that devil." Saki rolled her head in circles. "I swear, she is such a _bitch._"

Saki didn't look where she was going, she accidently bumped into someone.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" she looked down, where she had knocked the girl down. "Oh, Hinata" she tried to hide the repulsion that appeared in her tone.

Hinata looked up, her gaze meeting Saki's. She immediately tensed. "I-I… Sorry Saki-san." She immediately looked down.

"Whatever." Saki rolled her eyes. This girl was so… _meek._ It irked her, she didn't know why. She looked so weak, and yet she was the Hyuga heiress. Seriously, her of all people?!

Hyugas' were supposed to be strong-willed, brave, and intolerant… but this girl…

She got so high up in status without even _doing_ anything. _'Some people are born with luck.' _Saki frowned. _'Others have to work their way up, breaking rules and people in order to get what they want.'_

Saki walked away, and Hinata just stood there, watching her.

"Are you okay Hinata?" Kiba barely decided to speak now. He had been too curious about that Saki girl.

Akamaru whined as he nosed Hinata in the cheek. He looked up at Saki's direction, growling.

"I-I'm alright K-Kiba-kun." She assured, smiling slightly at him as he helped her up.

"Are you sure? You took a nasty tumble." Kiba explained as he examined Hinata's hand. "Look, you're bleeding." He poked her hand and watched her wince in pain.

"I-It's just a scratch." Hinata shook her head, taking her hand back. "Let's go. Shino and K-Kurenai-sensei are w-waiting for us."

Kiba sighed. "If you say so." Kiba put his hands behind his head lazily. "C'mon Akamaru" Kiba turned around along with Hinata and started walking away.

Akamaru looked at Saki once more, growling, before he barked and ran to catch up with Kiba and Hinata.

-------

"Good morning!" Saki chirped as she entered Tsunade's office, seeing Naruto and Sasuke already there.

"Morning Saki-chan." Naruto grinned.

"Morning" Tsunade muttered, flipping through some paperwork.

Sasuke didn't reply, much to Saki's displeasure. She shrugged it off –he never seemed happy in the morning; well, he seemed abnormally moody in the morning, let's put it that way, since he's always unhappy.

She heard a grunt from the corner of the room. Looking next to the window, she saw a guy with a Jounin vest on, lounging around the window.

'_Oh! He's one of Ino's teammates… pineapple head…' _Saki took in his features. _'But wait… what was his name? Shomaru? Shikaru?Shotaru? Ughh! I wish I was actually paying more attention when she was introducing me to her team! I was just so disgusted by that guy's eating, whoever he was.' _Saki crinkled her nose.

Yeah, Ino had introduced them before, and they've only seen each other about twice before…

"What's the mission baa-chan?" Naruto asked.

"I'm fairly certain it's one you'll enjoy." Tsunade instructed.

"That probably means I'll dislike it." Shikamaru sighed.

"You're coming too Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.

'_Oh, that was his name! I was close.'_

Shikamaru shrugged. "I guess so." Shikamaru mumbled, slowly getting back up.

"Umm… hi Shikamaru." Saki sent a smile his way.

Shikamaru stared at her for five seconds

……… "Have we met before?"

Saki almost tripped and when she recomposed herself, her face was red with anger, her fists tightened.

"Ino… introduced… us." Saki said slowly, trying to calm her temper.

"I see… no wonder I don't remember. I don't bother to learn about her annoying friends. Geez, this woman is troublesome." Shikamaru ran his hand through his hair.

Saki huffed and scowled, glaring at Shikamaru. So much for befriending _him._ Almost reminded her of Sasuke.

"Anyway, you three are to transport some medical herbs and items to Suna. They are low on medical remedies and there's been a large amount of shinobi being poisoned over there." Tsunade explained, focusing her attention to Team 7.

"Also, medics might be required." She eyed Saki, who nodded hesitantly. "I'm sending Shizune as well to inspect your work and help if there is anything to grave for you to handle."

Saki flinched. Seriously? _**More**_ Shizune? She had had enough of her already! And it had only been 2 weeks of training. She preferred Tsunade much more –she'd work a lot less… and, well, she'd learn enough for one day… Hardly enough in Shizune's opinion. She said if things kept up like this, Konoha's medical field would be lacking gravely in knowledge.

"Why am I needed? "Shikamaru questioned.

"Same old same old." Tsunade replied. "You are Konoha's ambassador… there's some issue about something I didn't bother to read about because I was too lazy." Tsunade dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

"Great. Now I have more work to do." Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

Naruto and Saki sweat dropped. They seemed more like Naruto on Saturday mornings than Konoha's fifth Hokage and Konoha's best analytic deviser on the field and out of it.

Konoha really had some wacked up people living in it…

* * *

"Well, we're finally in Sound." Kisame seemed the slightest bit happy they were that much closer to their destination, wherever that may be, exactly. It must have been around 11:00, telling from the position of the sun.

"Hn"

"Would it be too much to ask to book a room this time?" Kisame asked.

Itachi didn't reply.

He was obviously contemplating the answer himself. Kisame knew he had won already; if Itachi never came up with an answer within a 2 second radius of the time the question was asked, it meant that what he _should _do_, _and what he _wanted _to do were obviously contradicting each other. And whenever that happened…

"I suppose"

What he wanted to do _always _came up on top. Yup, Kisame had learned as much already. There was hardly ever a time Itachi did the unneeded, and he always got the job done effortlessly, saving as much time, effort, and money as he could. But apparently, he had had enough below zero temperatures, and stony hard surfaces as a bed.

It was time for change.

And when Itachi finally admitted defeat and declared they needed change… well, that's when you knew you were in need of change badly…

Or Itachi really dislikes something. And yes, he hated winter –cold weather included.

It was a sunny morning; the sun was out, making it much easier to go places. There was just enough sun that it had melted the snow off the tree branches, thus making it accessible for shinobi trying to go places speedily.

"The nearest town to our destination is about fifty miles away from Konoha." Kisame rounded off. "I'm not sure we'll find any rooms there though…" Kisame sighed. "Unless we use force, that is." Kisame added, trying to see if Itachi was desperate enough to go as far as kill a few people and invade their house.

"We will not act rashly." Itachi warned. "It'll draw unwanted attention, especially some from Konoha." Itachi replied.

Itachi had a point. With just half an hour's distance for a trained shinobi from Sound to Konoha, it was better they kept under the radar and didn't attract any attention.

"But what about or rooms?" Kisame complained, sounding a lot like a bratty teen.

"We'll find something." Itachi seemed set on this.

"If you say so." Kisame sighed.

Fifteen minutes into their journey –about 5 minutes off of the village- they met some… _unwanted visitors._

"Hunter-nins." Kisame frowned, sensing as their chakra signatures got closer and closer. "They're not too experienced, considering they're not doing a good job of concealing their chakra. Let's just go around them and save ourselves some trouble." Kisame suggested. He was sore from the previous nights of damp caves and sturdy walls.

Itachi shook his head. "There is a stronger one among them. I'm sure they have sensed us by now. They'll surely alert a nearby village. They're avoiding us." Itachi commented.

"Great." Kisame rolled his eyes. "Now we gotta hunt _them_. Just peachy." Kisame said sarcastically.

Itachi didn't reply to his comment. "Make sure none escape. Disguise your cloak just in case." He disappeared shortly afterwards.

Kisame sensed where Itachi went, and where the remaining nin were. "Yeah, thanks for leaving me the weak noobies." Kisame sighed, taking off his cloak and turning it inside out, pulling on his Akatsuki hat, and swinging his sword out and running at full speed.

Five minutes, two genjutsus, and seven mutilated bodies later, they met up at the entrance of the small village, examining it for several minutes.

* * *

'……_It's hot.' _Sakura instinctively kicked the blanket off of her. What she thought was a blanket anyway. Gaining a little more consciousness, she remembered it was Kisame's cloak. _'Why's it so hot? We're in the middle of winter.' _Sakura groaned as she got up, looking around the room hazily.

Oh, there was sun outside.

It hadn't been sunny for three days now. It had all been raging blizzards. Still, the condition of the weather would probably go back to blizzards by afternoon. By the way, what time was it anyway?

Sakura went to her room and looked at her alarm clock. It read 10:43.

Damn, she'd been power-napping. She never slept this late –always got up around 6:00, actually.

'_I must've been tired.' _Sakura yawned once more, wiping her eyes. '_Well, better get dressed.'_

Sakura grabbed some clothes and headed to her bathroom. She didn't feel like walking all the way to the bathhouses today. It was probably being used by many people anyway.

When Sakura got out of the shower, it could've been just her, but she felt a sudden burst of chakra around the area. It was strong –very strong.

Sakura shrugged it off. Maybe it was just her…

By the time she had pulled on her undergarments, she knew something was up. She wasn't going to wait until something happened to the village for her to react.

Sakura quickly went and put on her ninja attire, making sure to stock up on some of the several kunai and poison-induced senbon she had brought with her. She quickly put on the Akatsuki cloak, making sure to put it on inside-out, before pulling on her boots and gloves.

Sakura could feel it by the time she exited her cottage. Strong chakra signatures right outside the village… whatever it was, she didn't like it one bit.

* * *

"Like I said, no inns at all." Kisame sighed, leaning against a tree.

Itachi stayed quiet, peering around the village. "Do you sense it?" Itachi murmured slightly.

"Sense what?" Kisame asked.

A small breeze blew by, and Kisame looked at Itachi in question. "We're being cornered." He muttered.

"Hmm, are we?" Kisame didn't pay much attention to it, but he did stand up straight, shifting his Samehada slightly for an easier access.

They could sense a small presence huddled in a nearby tree, as if planning… waiting for them to make their move…

The hit came faster than either Itachi or Kisame expected. Itachi slipped passed the barrage of kunai while Kisame merely moved his Samehada in front for protection. "He's fast." Kisame growled. "Now what would such a skilled ninja be doing in the middle of a rusty old town with no inns?" Kisame wondered out-loud, mostly to himself.

Itachi barely had time to duck a punch to his stomach, and he skidded to his left, making the blow intended for him to miss and hit a nearby rock. It shattered into millions of tiny pieces, but that didn't stop the blob. It charged towards Kisame next.

"What the…" Kisame was astonished. "Wait a second, there are only two people who could do that." he looked at the blob headed for him in curiosity. And there it was. He could slightly make out a pink head running towards him at full speed, fist out ready to attack.

"Kitten?!" He took off his hat, as if telling Sakura it was him.

Sakura stopped all too quickly, her fist only inches away from his face.

She lowered it after several seconds, and looked at him with as much surprise as he had when he found her small little hand an inch away from his nose. That would've been painful, you see.

"Kisame?!!" she put her fist down and looked at the fish warily.

"The very same." He grinned.

She stared around, and soon enough, saw Itachi appear next to them. "Umm…" Sakura stared around awkwardly. "Sorry for attacking." She grinned, scratching the back of her head nervously.

Kisame laughed.

Three minutes, one bear hug, and several paces later, Sakura found two dangerous Akatsuki members sitting in her dining room with tea in their hand.

----

Sakura settled down on the chair opposite Itachi, to the left of Kisame, and started mixing her tea. "What brings you two here to Sound?" Sakura wondered, yawning slightly.

"We have a mission." Kisame answered.

"In the middle of blizzard-season?" Sakura questioned, raising her eyebrow. "Do you know how idiotic it sounds to cross from Lighting to Sound this time of year?"

"That's what I said." Kisame nodded solemnly.

"Pein-san must really like torturing you guys." She shook her head in dismay.

"Maybe," Kisame laughed, "but enough about us, look at you!" Kisame explained.

"What about me?" Sakura questioned, grinning.

"You have a new home!" Kisame explained.

"Well that's kinda obvious." Sakura rolled her eyes teasingly.

"Hey, that's a big achievement for two weeks time." Kisame said.

"Yeah it is." Sakura agreed. "But you wouldn't believe it! The people here are so _nice._" Sakura couldn't even begin to describe it. "They took me in as one of their own." Sakura sighed happily.

"That's probably because you're so kind." Kisame sighed.

"If I'm so kind why is it I was attacking you five minutes ago?" Sakura teased.

"Because we're S-Class criminal who were showing suspicious behavior in front of your village. You were trying to protect it."

Damn… Kisame made a good point.

"Did you get smarter while I was gone?" Sakura questioned, raising a delicate pink eyebrow.

Kisame glanced at Itachi and laughed. "I guess you can say that, yes." Kisame nodded. "I've learned some _pretty _valuable and interesting information."

Itachi glared at Kisame, and Sakura remained clueless.

"Is… something the matter?" Sakura questioned.

"No, everything's just peachy Sakura." Kisame grinned.

"Okay then… changing the subject…" Sakura said slowly. "How long will you two be staying here?"

"As long as it takes to complete the mission, I guess." Kisame shrugged. "Leader-sama gave us no specific details on that subject. He just said it was important, and we had to do it."

"Oh…" Sakura said. "And where exactly will you be staying?"

Sakura could see their good mood deteriorate dramatically.

"That's the current issue at hand…" Kisame trailed off.

"Oh, by all means, if you have nowhere to stay, I insist you stay here." Sakura said.

"But what if there's not enough room? I mean, a girl needs her space and I'm a giant." Kisame sighed.

"Nonsense. I have a bed and a couch."

"That counts two people." Kisame replied.

"The bed's big enough for two…" Sakura said slowly. "I can take the couch and-"

"No!"

"No"

Both rejections startled Sakura, making her jump. Of course Kisame's 'no' was a lot louder, but she was still surprised at the panic in their voice.

"Okay then… sorry I even inquired…" Sakura was trying not to laugh. As much as it had startled her, it seemed these two had… _issues _with considering anything with a male.

"It's not funny." Kisame growled.

"I agree"

"Well I disagree." Sakura stifled her laughter. "But fine, what do you all suggest?"

"Well, I wouldn't want to discomfort you, so I say you take the bed. And as long as you don't mind with sleeping with either one of us…" Kisame trailed off, sipping his tea.

"I've slept alongside males before." Sakura dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

"Well then, I'll take the c-"

"I'll use the couch." Itachi cut him off.

Kisame raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I mean the bed has gotta be a lot comfier…" Kisame trailed off.

"I'm certain…" Itachi nodded.

"Hmm…" Kisame hummed.

Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly. He could already see the gears in Kisame's head working…

Frankly, he didn't like it at all.

"If you guys would like to bathe, the village has a bathhouse a few blocks away."

Kisame's ears perked up, and even Itachi seemed interested. "B-B-Bathhouse?" Kisame seemed to be imagining heaven.

"I know right? That's how I felt the first I used it." Sakura couldn't even conceal her excitement. "The water is always at this beyond perfect temperature, and it's so roomy too." Sakura giggled.

"That sounds exquisite." Itachi nodded.

"Well then, let me just pull on the cloak and I'll lead the way… she stood up, grabbed their finished tea cups, and put them in the sink. "Oh, and one more thing…" Sakura muttered unsurely.

"What is it?" Kisame questioned.

"Your weapons…" Sakura frowned.

"What about them?" Kisame asked.

"Well you obviously can't take them in there! In fact, none of them should _see _your weapons. Besides, you won't even need them." Sakura said.

"Are you stripping us of our weapons?" Kisame raised an eyebrow, a daring smirk.

Sakura challenged his smirk. "If you want the bathe, yes." Sakura nodded.

Itachi was already standing up, removing his cloak, and then kunai holsters, and other weapons he carried with him, and handed them to Sakura.

Sakura smirked smugly at Kisame. "You see, _someone's_ much more compliant." Sakura hmmph'ed as she grabbed all the weapons and entered her room, storing them in her closet right next to her own weaponry.

"But my Samehada…" Kisame furrowed his eyebrows.

"Sorry, but that pup's gotta go." Sakura shrugged. "It can't leave my house." Sakura shook her head disapprovingly. What would the villagers thing of Sakura, seeing one of her friends had a sword bigger than them? Yes, it was rather intimidating, especially when most of her fellow villagers had never seen a full-fledged ninja, for the most part.

Kisame grunted. "Fine, fine." He handed Sakura the hilt of the sword, and when he let go, it dropped to the floor. Kisame laughed. "Using your strength would've been the best thing to do."

Sakura's eyes narrowed and she settled for a scowl. "Well excuse me for not being as strong as you." She quickly pumped chakra into her arms and this time, lifted it up with ease and went towards her room.

'**Damn, Kisame's one strong dude.'**

'_Well, it only suits his large self.' _Sakura sighed as she settled the Samehada next to her bed, leaning against the wall.

Sakura went to her bathroom, and quickly grabbed the first two towels she had seen, which happened to be the only two, considering the other ones were dirty and in need of washing.

'**Someone's gonna be stuck with a skimpy pink towel.' **Inner snickered.

'_Yeah, must be a site to see.' _Sakura said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. But then again, if she thought about it… _'Pink __**does **__go well with blue, ya know.' _She snickered as well, heading towards the door of her room.

'**Screw color schemes!' **Inner snorted. **'Think what Itachi would look like with such a towel!' **inner exclaimed.

Sakura, too distracted by the comment, hit her head on the door. "Ouch! Damn fucken supid ass bitch!" Sakura growled, shouting loudly a few more profanities.

Kisame and Itachi looked at each other, Itachi with his eyebrow raised, and Kisame with a grin. Such beautiful vocabulary she had, yes. "You okay kitten?" Kisame said loudly.

Sakura rubbed her nose sourly. "Yeah…" she growled, glaring at the door.

'_You can really be a pain in the ass sometimes.' _Sakura scowled.

'**Don't you mean a pain in the face?' **inner commented, as if trying to lighten up the mood.

'………' Sakura kept glaring at the door.

'**Okay, fine, I'll shut up now, Geez.' **Inner sighed.

Now feeling better, she looked at herself in the mirror fairly quickly, making sure her face wasn't still beet red –she strongly hoped it was red because she hit her face, _**not **_because of inner's comment, and then opened her door.

Entering her living room again, she saw Kisame and Itachi by the doorway all ready to go. "Sorry but… someone's settling with a pink towel."

She held it up and let the material fall, as if showing how big it was. It was a lighter shade of hot pink, and was really small –it was barely big enough to wrap around Sakura's body –and she had a small figure to begin with.

The other towel was much bigger, and black. Of course the guys would be fighting over this one…

Well, she would hardly even call it fighting really. Itachi just appeared next to her and grabbed the black towel before Kisame could take a step forward.

"That's not fair." Kisame scowled.

Sakura shrugged. "I'll let you two discuss this." She stepped back, hot pink towel still in her hand. Hey, in her opinion, it was a nice towel –she'd use it any day.

Yes, but _she _wasn't either of the two manly S-Class criminals in front of her, who both had histories of being violent, unmerciful, masochistic beings –and one was a blue giant who looked like a shark; he was probably as deadly as one too, if not deadlier.

Sakura looked at Kisame's waist, then her towel. She highly doubted the whole thing could even wrap around that.

Sakura laughed, suddenly getting a mental image of Kisame covering what he could with a tiny towel.

Kisame and Itachi stared at her, as if asking what she was laughing about.

"I-I'm sorry." Sakura tried to recompose herself, wiping away her tears. "I-It's just that…" Sakura inhaled deeply, "I highly doubt that towel would actually manage to cover everything it needed to if Kisame used it. He has a big torso."

"My point exactly." Kisame nodded.

"_Besides…_" Sakura tried to be positive. "No one's going to see you, besides Kisame."

…That's kind of what he was afraid of… especially with the whole "Itachi-neesama" crap Kisame had pulled off a few days ago…

Itachi's eyes narrowed into slits as he threw the towel at Kisame, who caught it with ease. "Thanks a bunch Itachi."

"Hn" he muttered solemnly, as Sakura handed him the pink towel.

"And you all have your clothes right?" Sakura went by the doorway, where she kept her boots, and began to pull them on.

Kisame held up a scroll. Sakura guessed they had sealed it there, so she just grabbed her cloak and tossed it on as she exited her house and briskly turned to her left, Kisame and Itachi just a few steps behind her.

Kisame seemed as if he were contemplating something interesting, and Itachi… well, you couldn't tell, he was as stoic as ever.

--------

"Okay, well umm, I'll leave you two here." Sakura shouted from the other side of the door, where Itachi and Kisame were already in the bathhouse.

"Hai…" Kisame shouted back.

"When you're done, I'll be in the house next door from mine, okay?" Sakura shouted back.

"Which one?" Kisame asked.

"Umm… the one with the smoky green color, and a lazy cat hanging around the windows." Sakura replied.

That was, as she had named it, Raikou. He sort of reminded Sakura of Shikamaru… all it did was lay around there. That was until a few days ago anyway, it had been too cold out, so it had returned to its owner, whoever that might be. But she had seen the cat again walking towards the bathhouse.

"Okay, we'll be there in a while." Kisame shouted back at her once more.

"Oh, and before I forget, here's my shampoo if you need any." Sakura opened the door slightly and put her hand in, waiting for someone to take it.

A few seconds past before she felt a hand take it; must be Kisame' –Itachi didn't seem to really want to talk to her or anything like that. But then again, they hardly knew each other…

Sakura turned around and began walking to Sera's, thinking about Itachi. It had slightly shocked her that whenever she had looked at Itachi, it didn't hurt. She had been so used to seeing Sasuke every time she saw Itachi… but now…

'_He's gone…' _Sakura was almost saddened by the news. Maybe it hadn't been true love after all… after all, Sasuke had forgotten about her too…

'**Stop thinking about Sasuke!' **inner scowled. **'I liked the talk about Itachi better.'**

Sakura rolled her eyes. _'Of course you did.'_

Anyway, yeah… she was becoming used to Itachi –she saw him, _not _Sasuke. This had to mean something, though she didn't exactly know what it meant.

"Good afternoon Sakura!" Sera greeted.

Whoa, Sakura didn't even notice when she stepped inside.

"Good morning Sera." Sakura waved lightly. She looked around the room. "Where are Suzuki and Suki?" she questioned.

"Oh, they're at school." Sera replied.

"At school?" Sakura questioned, raising an eyebrow. "They should still be in bed." Sakura went alongside Sera and helped her with the dishes –it had become a habit to help Sera out around the house.

"Yeah, that's what I said, but they insisted they felt superb." Sera replied.

"Maybe I underestimated their immune system." Sakura shrugged it off. "Did they seem good to you?"

"Their fever had gone down drastically and their pulse was normal." Sera explained. "They could even walk perfectly, so I let them go." Sera explained.

Sakura contemplated everything. "Well, as long as they don't eat anything then they'll be good."

Sera nodded, looking at the clock. "You came here late." Sera noted.

"Oh yeah… I overslept because of my chakra depletion." Sakura scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Plus, I met up with a few friends… they were the ones who helped me after I left you guys." Sakura explained.

"Oh really?" Sera's voice seemed filled with happiness. "Where are they, I _must _meet them, and thank them for everything they have done for you. After all, you just saved my little girls."

Sakura sweat-dropped. "Umm, they're in the bathhouse sprucing up right now. They just came from a long journey from Lighting." Sakura explained.

"In this weather? That's absurd!" Sera looked flabbergasted.

"That's what I said." Sakura chuckled. "But yeah, they're very tough, so a little snow wouldn't take them down."

"A little?" Sera raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, even hell freezing over probably wouldn't stop that duo." Sakura admitted, laughing slightly.

Sera laughed as well. "They seem vigorous, from what you're telling me." Sera said.

Sakura laughed nervously. "Well, they're certainly strong." She agreed.

"Hmmm… already 12:45." Sera sighed.

"What time do Suzuki and Suki get out from school?" Sakura asked.

"Normal time is 2:35, but we decided to let them out earlier in winter, so as to not get caught up in the snow if the weather is ever too bad." Sera explained. "Now it's 1:05."

"So they should be coming out soon." Sakura dried her hands. Sera nodded. "I can go pick them up, if you want." Sakura suggested.

"Oh, that would be helpful. I still haven't prepared dinner." Sera explained.

"Well, we can hang outside for a while until you're done." Sakura explained.

"Yes, that'd be excellent." Sera agreed. "Oh, and invite your friends!" Sera exclaimed. "Dinner's on me tonight, okay Sakura-chan?" her voice was much too sweet for Sakura's liking. And she already knew she had lost when she said 'Sakura-chan'.

Sera never used 'Sakura-chan', unless trying to win over Sakura with her all-too sweet characteristics.

Sakura sighed. "Fine" Sakura groaned.

"Yay!" Sera squealed excitedly. "It's been a while since we've had company over!"

"I was here yesterday…" Sakura said slowly.

"You're not company." Sera shook her head disapprovingly. "You're family, now shoo and go pick up your friends!"

Sakura blinked, not even realizing Sera had kicked her out of the house.

'…_She's scary…' _Sakura swallowed the lump in her throat.

Sakura stretched lightly, yawning at the same time Raikou did. She laughed lightly as she walked over to the cat and scratched it behind its ears. "I knew I wasn't the only one still tired." She laughed lightly as the cat meow'ed in response.

Sakura walked away shortly afterwards, heading towards the village's small school.

----

Sakura arrived just as the kids began to pile out of the classroom. It took her a while, but she finally spotted Suki and Suzuki standing by a nearby tree, using a stick to draw in the snow. Sakura smile as she grabbed two puffs and carved them to perfection, making them small and round, before aiming and throwing them at Suzuki and Suki, who both squealed at the sudden cold contact at the back of their heads.

"I told you I'd need to beat you at a snowball fight." Sakura stuck her tongue out childishly.

"Sakura-okaasan!" they both ran to her and hugged either side of her leg. Well, apparently the story had stuck to them –they were now calling her mom. Not that Sakura minded or anything, In fact, she would pray she'd someday have children as angelic as them.

"Let's go to the bathhouse now, hurry along." Sakura ran slowly.

Suzuki and Suki looked at each other, before they ran to catch up to Sakura. "Why the bathhouse?" Suzuki questioned.

Sakura winked at them. "A few of my friends came this morning. Sera insists on have them over for dinner."

"So you're eating with us tonight?" Suki perked up.

"Yup" Sakura popped her 'p'.

* * *

"Itachi" Kisame sunk to the warm water, a few feet away from him.

Itachi merely side-glanced his way.

"Why do you refuse to sleep with Sakura?"

The question should have caught him off guard –key word, should have. He saw the mischievous look in Kisame's eyes while walking here, and that look was all too familiar to him.

"It is inappropriate" Itachi merely replied.

"Like she said earlier, she has slept alongside other males before."

"And those males happened to be males she had known for over five years, not five weeks." Itachi noted.

"She seems to trust us enough, c'mon Itachi." Kisame grinned.

"She's better acquainted to you. I highly doubt she'll be as comfortable with me."

Kisame looked at Itachi slyly. "Why are you changing reasons now?"

Itachi glared.

"Aww, come on Itachi. You shouldn't lie to me. I'll find out eventually. You know it's true." Kisame chuckled.

Itachi didn't reply.

"Could it be maybe… _you _don't feel comfortable letting her sleep alongside you?"

He knew he had it right when Itachi tensed slightly; another thing Itachi had taught him was to look for the slight twitches of nerves near the facial area and hands when trying to look for a lie and such.

"So I was right." Kisame tried not to chuckle. "Could it be Itachi is afraid of the female population, hmm?" Kisame was starting to sound cocky; Itachi didn't like it, **at all.**

Itachi's death-glare confirmed his thoughts.

"My, my" Kisame tsk'ed, "Itachi is afraid of contact with my little Sakura-chan." he teased.

"I am not afraid." He countered.

"Well then, what do you call it?"

Itachi didn't reply, and instead, stood up and walked away to the showering area (the bathhouse came with a showering area in the corner).

"I bet you can't even stand to sleep next to her for one night."

Itachi didn't like being dared. Frankly, he took it as a challenge –there was never a time he didn't accept a challenge.

Kisame knew that.

And he was using it against him.

Itachi let out a miniscule sigh. He had trained a very powerful, very dangerous weapon. Why had he thought it such a good idea to train Kisame in the ways of sneaky language way back when? Well, he had unfortunately.

And now, it was turning around and biting him in the ass.

Kisame did as he did, and went to a different shower head, several feet from his own. He opened Sakura's shampoo bottle and took one whiff of it. He crinkled his nose. "Itachi, can I use your shampoo? I don't want to smell like…" he paused to look at the scent described on the bottle. "Strawberry-Mango Fruit Fragrance."

Itachi stared at him blankly.

Kisame already knew what that meant. Kisame chuckled "Right…" he opened the bottle and squeezed the pink liquid on his hand. Hey, it would all be worth it in a couple of hours... he hoped so anyways. He'd never seen Itachi under pressure or anything like that. It'd be rather amusing seeing him try something new for once.

* * *

"So…" Kisame tried to begin some more conversation as they exited the bathhouse, fully dressed and fully refreshed. "Are you gonna sleep with- Sakura!" he looked straight ahead and saw Sakura walking towards them, two bundles of joy on either side of her.

They obviously peered at him curiously first and foremost. Ahh yes, there was a process… they'd hide behind sakura and ask who he was, and state how scary looking he was. Then they'd probably cry or run away.

Suki and Suzuki looked up at Sakura curiously. "Who's the sharky looking guy, Sakura-kaasan?" Suki pulled on Sakura's sleeve.

"That's Kisame." Sakura smiled.

Instead of fear, Kisame saw excitement build up in them. Well, that was certainly something new.

"Kisame-niisan!" they ran to him and hugged him like there was no tomorrow. If he were as small as Sakura, it probably would've been painful.

Sakura sweat-dropped. Maybe using the story had been a good idea… By the look Kisame had given the girls, he probably expected them to cower in fear of him.

Kisame lifted his arms, having a girl swinging on either one of them. "I like these kids." He chuckled lightly.

Sakura grinned. "That's Suzuki and Suki for ya alright." Sakura nodded. You see, it wasn't just her who thought these girls were a bundle of heaven on earth.

"Sakura-kaasan." Suzuki chirped. Sakura stared at her, trying to keep her face cool, as she saw Suzuki climb onto Kisame's arm. "And who is he?"

"That's…" Sakura followed Suzuki's finger till she reached Itachi. "Oh, that's-" her heart dropped as soon as it clicked in her mind what their reaction would be.

'_Crap'_

'**What? Tell them that's Itachi –your future hubby~~!' **inner squealed in delight.

'_Get real inner.' _Sakura snorted.

'**What?' **inner pouted. **'This is your own fault. If you ask me, you did that on purpose.'**

'_Yeah, cuz I'm definitely deeply and madly in love with Itachi. Seriously, get a life!'_ Sakura's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

'**I have one, thank you.' **Inner glared.

'_No, I'm bunking with you. Be glad I even let you stay in the hell hole that is my mind.' _Sakura retorted.

"Sakura-kaasan?" Suzuki questioned.

"That's-" Sakura again, trailed off.

'**Say it'**

'_No'_

'**Say it'**

'_No!'_

'**SAY IT!'**

'_N-'_

**" That's Itachi."**

The words escaped her lips before she even knew what was happening. _'Damn it inner!' _Sakura felt like punching something. It'd been a while since inner had taken over her body…

Suki and Suzuki stared at each other for a second, before they stared at Itachi, and then each other once again.

"OTOU-SAN!!" the assault had been faster than either Itachi or Kisame could expect. Unfortunately, Sakura saw it coming, and she could only mentally pray they wouldn't ask her about it.

Kisame chuckled, obviously amused as he stared back and forth between Itachi with the kids now clinging on him, and Sakura, who had a look of dread on her face. "I knew I liked these kids for a reason." Kisame tried to stop himself from barking out in laughter... it wasn't working so well...

Itachi merely blinked.

_What the hell was going on?_

**End of Chapter**

**Okay… well…. I did promise ita x saku-ness over here… I hope the small fluff at the end was good, along with the complicated emotions Itachi has –which involves sakura, somewhat, and same goes for Sakura.**

**And well… let me just say, wow people! I got **_**33 **_**reviews for the last chapter :3 you guys, are awesome! Hell, those reviews inspired me so much, I got so fueled and began to work on this!**

**So yeah, cheers for an early update, yes? :)**

**Anyway… next chapter will be the OFFICIAL beginning of the two love birds :3 don't u just love Kisame? And Suzuki and Suki? My gawd I must've been a genius on brain-steroids when I created them :3 lol**

**Anyway, I started school Monday, and I have 2 unfinished projects due very, very soon. Because of this, the next chapter will probably come later, my humblest apologies people. (that is unless I get three thousand reviews again x)**

**Reviews fuel an author for faster updates**

**So why not drop a review, yes?  
-Marzy-chan~~! :))**


	11. Conspiracy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters (besides Oc's ;)**

**Chapter 11: Conspiracy**

Itachi blinked

_Twice _(two blinks too many, in Itachi opinion –it never took him more than three milliseconds to react, usually)

And he still couldn't make out the picture in front of him. Was he… was he being _hugged?_ By children no less!

…And to think he hadn't incapacitated, or killed them yet. It was mostly because of the fact he didn't think Sakura would appreciate him hurting anyone in the village, or maybe because he currently had no weapons on him, and surely using a jutsu wouldn't be the wisest of things…

(he dared not think the reason was because he was too shocked)

Pshht, being too shocked? _Never_. He'd seen too many things to ever be shocked by such a silly antic as this…

But then again, it wasn't like he'd ever received hugs like these or any other sort for that matter, by anyone besides Mikoto when he was but nine years of age. And to think about it, that had probably been the last time he had received a hug from anyone.

Lonely? Of course not. Distant and antisocial? Maybe.

Nevertheless…!

He still had a current issue at hand –disposing of the little brats properly, and to do it without hurting them. Seriously, all he wanted was to have them _off of him!_

…And not to mention he was still curious why they jumped on him anyway, screaming "Otou-san" and things like that.

The mere thought almost sent shivers down his spine.

"Girls, get off of him." Sakura tried not to snap, her smile pulled wide into a nervous one. "Sorry Itachi, they can be a handful at times."

Itachi came back to reality, giving Sakura a prompt look, as if telling her it was okay.

_It so wasn't._

How long had it been now? 30 seconds, and they still hadn't let go? Itachi was surprised he hadn't even tried to at least shake them off or something.

Too many thoughts were rushing to his head

"But-" They complained, pouting at Sakura.

Suzuki was now on Itachi's chest, clinging to him like a koala, and Suki was clinging onto his arms like there was no tomorrow.

"You don't even know the poor man." Sakura shook her head in dismay. Just because of one little story, they think they can befriend an S-Class criminal, capable of killing both of them with, most likely, a pinky.

"Sure we do Sakura-kaasann." Suki nodded.

"Yeah! He's your h-"

Kisame and Itachi blinked.

The girls were now off of Itachi, and nowhere to be seen.

Sakura had mysteriously disappeared, the only thing left being the small foot prints Sakura made in the snow.

......

......

......

"So..... How 'bout them children, Nee?" Kisame grinned mischievously.

Itachi side-glanced his way, his eyes pretty much telling Kisame "So not in the mood"

Kisame chuckled. "Right…"

Meanwhile…

Sakura dashed away with Suki and Suzuki on either side of her, carrying them like stiff logs on her arms.

'_Yeah, real smart Sakura.' _Sakura retorted in her mind, mostly directing her anger at inner. She had no real reason to do so, but she really didn't want to blame herself for this catastrophe. _'Tell them a story with real people in them and make them think Itachi is your husband.'_

"Sakura-kaasan?" Suki questioned.

"Why are we running away from Nii-san and Otou-san?"

Once Sakura reached their house, she put them down and sighed, leaning on the olive green house and inhaling deeply. "Girls, you can't go around judging people just by a little story I told you." Sakura scolded.

Suki and Suzuki looked at each other. "But you used their names." Suki pouted.

"I used your names too. That doesn't mean anything." Sakura rejected.

Suki and Suzuki gave Sakura the most sad looking puppy eyes she had ever seen, it was ridiculous. These girls were so damn adorable, it should be a crime. "D-Does that mean you d-don't want children like u-us?"

Sakura glowered; she really disliked this part about them –and it was even worse to think Sera had the exact same quality too. Kami knew she'd be doomed if she ever _did _indeed have children like them. "N-No of course not." Sakura stuttered out. "I'd adore children like you… but…" The poor girls didn't even let Sakura finish her sentence.

"Then if you said the truth about that," Suki commented.

"Then what you said about everyone else had to be true too." Suzuki agreed.

"Well, it is true that Kisame and Itachi happen to be relatively close, and that Hinata really is beyond kind b-"

"Then you do-"

"No!" Sakura interjected, cutting them off. "I personally only used the names of people I have… befriended, you could say." Sakura answered. "I am in no way romantically involved with Itachi, nor will I ever be." She declared loudly, as if trying to prove a point as she stuck her head up in pride.

"Sakura-kaasan?"

"Yes Suzuki?" she asked, looking down for a few seconds before resuming her might pose.

"Why are you blushing?"

"......"

Inner busted up laughing.

"Umm… all the running is getting to me." Sakura replied, looking downs slyly at her little angels, though truthfully, they were being more like devils right about now…

Suzuki shook her head. "The heat radiating with your body should actually turn you pale, considering it would only mix horribly with the chilly weather –you'd be colder.

Damn it… when did her girls get so smart? Only the average Shinobi in training would be able to notice these things…

They were not only smart, with black hair and dark green eyes, but they were also intelligent beyond belief –for their age anyway. They would truly make fine Shinobi if they were chose that path.

"And we even look like you two too!" Suki perked up.

Sakura scoffed, rejecting the theory. "No you guys do not." Sakura shook her head.

"We have your green eyes, just a little darker, as if it had mixed with his." Suki noted, as she pointed to her own eyes.

'**Point 1 for the awesome youngsters.'**

"And we have black hair too!" Suki added.

'**Point 2'**

"And Itachi-tousan has our same face structure, and we have the same noses." Suzuki noted.

'**Point 3 and 4, and you've been defeated by some munchkins!' **inner really wasn't helping with the current predicament at hand… probably because she was on their side… but…

And for the most part, they were right. Their eyes were olive green, Suki's being just a smudge lighter with hints of hazel on the outside –it was from her _real _father.

Suzuki had long black hair going past her shoulders, nearing her chest, while Suki had hers just above the shoulders, similar to how Sakura had it in her Genin days.

And not to mention they had those gorgeous facial structures which only royal families seemed to pass on… and yes, Itachi had them too, only the girls had slightly higher cheekbones, making them that much prettier.

"And don't get us started with our height."

"Yeah, I think I got yours." Suki agreed as she stood next to Sakura.

Sakura pouted. "Are you calling me short?" she scowled.

"Not really, no." Suki grinned as she looked up at Sakura.

"Yeah, and I am particularly tall for my age." Suzuki agreed.

Damn her and her big words! To anyone else's ears, everything made perfect sense. And really, if you do put all four of them together, most would think they were a family –of course, people would also think Sakura was in labor maybe around fourteen or fifteen but…

Nevertheless…!

"Go inside, clean up, and prepare for dinner." Sakura changed the subject quickly.

Suzuki and Suki grinned from ear to ear and shouted a loud "Hai!" before they dashed off inside –since Sakura had changed the subject, that had meant they had won.

_And you could definitely bet your ass they'd tell Sera about what was going on between the two_

Sakura waited outside the house for several minutes, until she finally saw Itachi and Kisame approach. Kisame seemed as happy as ever, if not, abnormally amused, and Itachi seemed slightly unnerved in Sakura's opinion.

Nah, probably her imagination…

"Well, you found your way back easily." Sakura directed her smile towards Kisame –avoiding Itachi's gaze seemed to be the best thing to do as of due time…

"It wasn't too hard to follow your footprints in the snow." Kisame shrugged. "They were well buried in there." He grinned.

Sakura's eye twitched slightly. Yes, she had been running in fear either of them would discover their bedtime story, but she hadn't meant to engrave her footprints on the ground…

She'd have to work on that, Sakura concluded.

"Anyway," Sakura tried to change the subject, "how about we go inside and I introduce you to the most wonderful woman in the world?" Sakura smiled cheerfully.

"And you're positive we won't scare her?" Kisame questioned. True he had been surprised the girls hadn't feared him in the first place, but this was a full-fledged adult –she'd probably have a better take in this situation then two little girls.

"Oh please," Sakura dismissed his comment with a wave of her hand as she continued, "it wouldn't scare her if you two walked on limps, lost an arm, had a sword through your back and had numeral scars on your faces." She rolled her eyes.

"If you say so..." Kisame sighed hesitantly.

Sakura giggled lightly at Kisame's defiance. He'd seriously have to get used to being in a village with so many nice people in it. It was a wonder how Kisame lived through out his years; did he honestly expect everyone to be scared of him?

Well, it wasn't peculiar to think so. Actually, that was what Sakura predicted to begin with.

'_Well, he's obviously never dealt with some good ol' Sound hospitality.' _Sakura grinned as she turned around and opened the door to the small house.

Sakura found Suzuki, Suki, and Sera huddled up in a small corner in the kitchen. The two kids seemed to be doing all the talking, while Sera just squatted there silently and tried to take in all the information.

Damn... Suki and Suzuki were as sneaky as they come...

She'd definitely have to punish them again for this... And no, this time, it wasn't going to be just some silly little snowball to the face._ 'I think a tickle fight would be a good punishment.'_Sakura's eyes narrowed as she saw Sera explode into a fit of giggles. Did she mention Suki and Suzuki were _extremely _ticklish? (Sort of like her)

Sakura cleared her throat, as if trying to get their attention.

Sera immediately stood up straight, jumping slightly even, and hit her head in a nearby cabinet near her head. "Oh, oh my..." Sera was beyond embarrassed. What would they think of her now, seeing her in 'gossip mode' and all...

But as soon as her embarrassment came, it disappeared, a light, merry smile on her face instead. "It is so great to finally meet you too; I've heard quite a bit about you two." she eagerly walked up to Kisame and shook his head. "You must be Kisame, right?"

"Yeah, nice to meet you." Kisame replied, shaking her hand. He couldn't help but notice the woman in front of him was almost _half his size_. And not to mention her hand was puny too! It was almost as small as Sakura's!

"And that means you're Itachi." Sera examined him much longer than she really should have.

Itachi shook her hand as he gave her a small nod. Hey, what could he say? He was taught to be respectful towards elders. Handshakes and formal greetings were okay with him. But anything else more than than...

"Where's your husband, Sera?" Sakura intentionally asked the question, hoping it would get her to stop eyeing Itachi as if he were some type of china to be looked at and prized.

"He left the village to go trade with a few others. He should be back tomorrow." It did indeed make Sera's eyes shift towards Sakura. But now, they were just glued in place... what was she staring at?!

"Oh..." Sakura didn't really have anything else to say, considering she could almost imagine what was running through Sera's mind. Let's just say, she didn't really like it all too much either...

"Well, enough introductions, let's eat, yes?"

Well, thank god for that.

Sakura blinked twice. She was now seated in between Itachi and Kisame, with Suzuki and Suki on either side of them, leaving Sera to be in between the two munchkins she wouldn't mind killing right now...

She was seriously wondering if Sera had previously been a ninja... it would be logical; as speedy as she was, and as scary as well... That would mean Suki and Suzuki would most likely be excellent shinobi too...

But then again, she didn't think she wanted to be the one to train them... these tree females were enough of a handful for her as it was. How much worse would it get for Sakura if they could move incredibly fast and maybe even create havoc around the town by making clones.

'_Thank Kami Itachi has the Sharingan, and Kisame is skilled enough to be able to tell the difference.' _she would definitely not forget to pray tonight!

"So how was school girls?" Sakura started with the basic day-to-day conversation.

"Seijiro confessed his love to Suzuki." Suki piped in.

Suzuki, obviously embrrassed, blushed ferociously and stammered. "S-S-Shut up Suki!"

"But he did!" she pouted.

"Someone has a secret admirer." Sakura laughed teasingly.

"You should be one to talk, Sakura-kaasan." Suzuki gave her a daring look.

Sakura narrowed her eyes. There were only around three people she could have been talking about. Two of them could have been the two young men around her age who lived a few blocks down, and the other...

She slyly looked to her right, where Itachi hadn't (thankfully) noticed they were talking about him. Goodness, these girls had crazy imagination. She already knew about the other two, but Itachi...

Nevertheless, she didn't want to think of anything to do that included her, and boys, such as Itachi, Daisuke, or Gaijou neither of which, did she want to be the topic of discussion at the dinner table...

"Your delluiosnal." Sakura rejected.

"Is she?" both Sera and Suki spoke up at the same time, before giggling lightly.

Sakura glared. "**Yes,** _she is."_Sakura replied viciously, trying her best not to break the fork in her hand.

Kisame stared in the sidelines, amused. He could have _sworn _they were talking about Itachi; they knew something he didn't.... and he was intent on finding out what it was. But for right now... maybe pleasing the mother would be the best way to go.

"The food is delicious, Sera-san."

The mood around the dinner table immediately brightened. "You really think so?!" Sera squealed in delight -she was surely over-loved now, if anything.

Itachi nodded after Kisame, and Sera seemed that much more pleased. "Oh, why thank you my boys!!" Sera was squirming in her seat, feeling as if she were the most loved person in the world.

"I tell you that all the time Sera." Sakura pouted.

"But things like these from family mean nothing; they could just be trying to be polite." Sera sighed.

Sakura sweat-dropped. "Did you not just call them 'your boys' Sera?" Sakura questioned.

"Yes, I did." Sera nodded. "But that is because they are now in the family."

Sakura and Kisame sweat-dropped. Itachi would have too, if he weren't so... stoic-y. He settled for a rather amused smirk.

_'Can you believe this woman! She just totally contradicted herself!'_

Kisame laughed lightly. "I like this family..."

Sakura groaned, shaking her head in disaprovement. "Nevermind then..." Sakura glanced at Suki and Suzuki, who were trying to be discreet about staring at Itachi (but it was totally obvious) and Sera, who was staring intently at Kisame's skin, probably trying to take in the blue hue of it... "How is Konan?"

"Hmm, violent as always. Knocked Hidan down right before we left, if you know what I mean." Kisame did the best he could to emphasize what _really _happened_._

"Well, I can't say he most likely didn't deserve it. I hope he's not mad at me for... you know..." Sakura tried not to laugh.

"Oh, _that?_" Kisame scoffed. "Nah, he's cool. He's actually pretty impressed you had the guts." Kisame took a moment to drink his water. "Says that if he ever sees you again, he's so gonna kick your a-"

Sakura quickly elbowed him in the gut.

"-dorable little self to the ground."

Sakura questioned him with an odd look. "Adorable little self?" she tried not to laugh.

Kisame merely shrugged, as if saying "It was the best I could come up with in such a short notice, don't blame me."

Sakura rolled her eyes in a "whatever" fashion, a wide grin on her face.

"Konan seems pretty feisty." Sera commented from the sidelines.

"She kinda is." Sakura admitted truthfully. "But I guess you could say she's the... _good _type of feisty, if that makes sense."

"Oh, but it makes perfect sense my dear." Sera laughed lightly.

Sakura laughed as well. She loved how Sera could be so understanding -even when sometimes she shouldn't understand whatever they were saying.

With that thought in mind, everyone ate their dinner calmly, with small chats between Sera, Kisame, Sakura, Suki, and Suzuki, and Itachi (he only spoke when he was spoken to).

* * *

After dinner, Sakura and Sera began to clear the table while Itachi, Kisame, and the two girls sat in the sofa and began a staring contest. (Not really, they just all had questions they were too scared to voice out, in any case)

"Oh dear, it seems we're out of fire food." Sera had left the kitchen, intending to start a nice cozy fire.

Sakura peeked her head out of the kitchen. "I can go get some if you want, Sera." Sakura said.

"Would you please dear?" Sera smiled thankfully.

"Better yet, I'll go." Kisame spoke up, a small grin on his face. "You're both busy, after all."

"No, it's okay... I need some for myself anyway." Sakura insisted.

"An even better reason for me to go. We'll be staying in your house so it's the least we can do. Right, Itachi?" he nudged Itachi in the elbow lightly.

Itachi solemnly nodded in response.

"We want to go too!" Suki and Suzuki exclaimed loudly. If Kisame was going to go, maybe this would be a great time to get to know their "Nii-san" better.

"I'll go with the girls." Kisame insisted, a plan brewing in his head.

"But then you'll leave Itachi all alone." Sakura explained.

"He'll come with and get your firewood."

Sakura contemplated his answer, narrowing her eyes. "Are you sure? Maybe Itachi doesn't want to go."

"I don't mind." Itachi spoke up.

Sakura sighed. They were making this impossible, but whatever. "Fine. Girls, I trust you know where to take them right?"

"Yup!" they smiled brightly.

"Okay fine, go put your coats on." Sakura replied. Geez, Kisame sure was a stubborn man. She doubted he was actually just doing this to be kind -he was a very lazy person, she had learned as much from her time in the Akatsuki base.

* * *

"To the woods we go"

"To cut wood we go."

Suki and Suzuki chirped loudly as they ran in the snow-covered roads.

Kisame merely stared at them, obviously amused. He'd never seen kids act so... freely... especially not in front of Akatsuki members. Well, that's probably because any other time he was in front of children, he had been ordered to dispose of them... he'd rather not think about that right now though...

"You want me to take the kids while you cut your share of wood alone?" his question was more like a statment, just because he already knew Itachi that well.

"Is there really a reason to ask?" Itachi side-glanced his way. It wasn't that he hated Suki and Suzuki -he sort of dislike kids in general, but he was still slightly unnerved from what they did previously that day. He hadn't sorted out his thoughts like how he had hoped while they were eating. And it especially didn't help when he felt Sera's stare on him... he could feel they were plotting something.

It was conspiracy, damn it.

Kisame chuckled. "Right...."

And maybe, just maybe, it was conspiracy.

Suki, Suzuki, Itachi's gonna split up and go get some for Sakura while you two go with me." Kisame nudged them as he stopped walking, and Itachi kept going ahead to the left.

Suki and Suzuki looked back and forth between Itachi and Kisame before they nodded and ran back to Kisame. "We can cut anything here." Suki explained.

Kisame nodded and looked all around him, where he saw trees barks cut off, and some pulled right out of the ground. "I'm guessing that was Sakura." Kisame tried not to laugh.

"Sakura-kaasan is very strong." Suzuki exclaimed with amazement written all over her face.

"Yeah, but we're wondering how you'll cut down the tree." Suki agreed.

Hmm, Kisame didn't really think about that. He guessed most villagers used axes for that, considering most trees seemed to be sliced cleanly off. Kisame stood back and looked a the trees quizzically. A wind technique would do good too, slicing it similarly to an axe. But then again, he wasn't very experienced with those. Water was his best affinity, but he'd probably soak the whole tree, and maybe himself and the girls too. He doubted Sakura would appreciate them getting sick...

So, Wind it was.

Kisame quickly told the girls stand back as he made quick hand signs and the tree was cut cleanly off, falling on the opposite side of him.

"Zugoi!!" Suki and Suzuki clapped in amazement.

Kisame chuckled; they made him feel so accomplished, seriously. They must be good inspiration. Even a simply technique such as walking on the wall would surprise these two toddlers. "Say, can I ask you girls a question?" Kisame watched the girls from the corner of his eyes and watched them approach the tree.

"Anything Kisame-niisan."Suki said as she climbed the thick tree, and Suzuki stared at it curiously.

"Why'd you call Itachi your Otou-san?"

They girls seemed to brighten as they stared up at him with giant smiles that would melt the hearts of most people -it only fazed him slightly, being the tough ninja he was. Now, to actually cut the wood.

He couldn't say he was glad Orochimaru had ever joined Akatsuki for a while -actually, he really disliked the fact that he was sharing space with a homo-sexual like snake, but one good thing had come from it. His assistant, Kabuto, he believed his name had been, had taught him one particularly handy move.

Chakra scalpel

Yes, it had become very handy in some situations, Kisame couldn't deny. Still, he hoped that kid had died along with Orochimaru; he was bratty and snooty and thought himself so high and might just because hwas Orochimaru's most trusted assistant.

"Do you really want to know?" Suki asked as she swung her lugs, now on top of the tree.

"Yes, I really do." Kisame grinned. "I think we could... be on to something."

Man, Kisame was really being cruel. Well, Itachi and Sakura might think so... everyone else? Not so much...

* * *

"That makes much more sense." Kisame tried not to laugh.

The wood was now all neatly cut up into pieces perfect for firewood, Kisame arranging them in order. The girls had explained to him all about their 'bedtime story', and what had happened earlier that day.

"Yeah, but I don't understand." Suki looked at the cut pieces of wood sourly. "I mean, if they like each other, they don't need to hide it." Suki's features turned into a mixture of a pout and a scowl, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Kisame couldn't help but snort. "Let's just say they don't have much of a relationship." Kisame explained.

_'Yet' _his mind added mischievously.

"What do you mean?" Suzuki asked.

"Well, to be perfectly honest, they haven't spoken much, and they don't really know much about each other." Kisame was beginning to pick up the pieces of wood.

"But we can change that, can't we?" Suzuki perked up by Suki's comments.

Kisame smirked deviously. "Oh, but I've already started." his lips quirked up into a smirk.

Suki and Suzuki wanted to be helpful, so he gave each of them one small piece of wood while they walked to where Itachi was already waiting for them. They didn't say anything to him, and just kept walking.

Itachi found it rather odd, but he didn't comment on it. He didn't need to be curious, for that would surely get him into trouble by Kisame's now sly mouth. Frankly, he was tired of everything turning around and biting him in the ass.... _hard._

Maybe this was another reason he could decide to hate winter; Kisame was getting him in bed with a girl he didn't even know (and thank Kami it was only sleeping next to her).

Seriously, if he were forced to partake in daily activities with her, he might just have to decide to look for Orochimaru's base 24/7, so as to not have to sleep next to her -or see her at all, for that matter.

Still, he preferred sleeping with Sakura than sleeping with _Kisame._ That would just be... _wrong._

Walkinf back to Sera's apartment, he noticed Kisame and the girls were discussing something, apparently secretivite, considering they were talking in hushed voices, and were making sure Itachi was far from hearing range...

He knew this probably wouldn't be towards his favor, in any case. When you put together a scheming Kisame, -and what he guessed, two toddlers eager to call him their father and Sakura their mother, well, it just couldn't be good, could it?

He'd just need to prepare himself mentally and figure out what they're were planning beforehand, if he ever wanted to return to the Akatsuki base alive... or with his pride still in check, in any case.

* * *

"Sera, what's up with the looks you kept giving Itachi?" Sakura spoke absent-mindedly as she scrubbed the dishes clean.

Sera didn't respond immediately, and when she did, she sort of avoided the answer. "He's a nice young man, you know." she stated.

"I know" Sakura agreed. "But you might make him uneasy with all your stares." Sakura glanced beside her, where Sera was drying the plates and humming a small tune. "And not to mention the way you eyed him made him seem like a piece of meat, or a prize." Sakura sighed.

"Oh, I'm just studying the candidates."

Sakura almost choked on the brisk air around her. "Candidates for what?!" she exclaimed loudly.

Sera chuckled. "You know..."

Sakura fake-laughed. "No... I don't, actually..."

"He's strong and intelligent."

"He's a very skillful ninja, yes." Sakura agreed.

"An he's tall." Sera added.

"His clan, you could say, was a very regal clan. All tall with godly features." Sakura nodded.

"That means he's handsome too, right?" Sera nudged her on the rib childishly.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Of course he's _handsome. _You'd have to be blind in order to not realize _that_." Sakura sighed. "But I, by no means, find myself attracted to him in any way, shape, or form, okay Sera." Sakura scowled.

"Oh dear, I never said _you _were." Sera a devilish glint in her eyes.

Sakura slightly tensed, already feeling where this was going.

"I was just thinking maybe the girls in the village might fawn over him while he stays here." Sera brushed it off. "But now that you seem to think I am directing this towards _you_..." Sera trailed off.

Sakura scowled. She knew Sera had been talking about her the whole time. Sera knew that too. But it had never been stated, and Sera had an all too sweet tone in her voice.

Damn....

"What do you think of Itachi? Maybe you like him?"

"I will not discuss this particular topic right now, Sera." Sakura stated.

"Avoiding the question, I see..." Sera hummed out.

Sakura's eye twitched in anger. "I am not, by any means, avoiding the question Sera." Sakura scowled. "He saved my life, to that I owe him greatly, but he is merely a fellow companion."

"But it could develop into something more, yes?"

"What?! That's absurd!" Sakura exclaimed all too quickly. "I need to get my life back on track before I can even _think_ about relationships, and Itachi... well, he's just himself! He's not even interested in looking for a girl."

"You never know." Sera giggled lightly.

Before Sakura could protest, the door was flung open, Kisame and the girls making their way inside.

"We're back Okaa-san." Sakura didn't know if they were talking to her, or to Sera. They seemed over-joyed, and maybe, if she looked closer enough, she would have seen the mischevious glances they had sent her way. Unfortunately, she had been too busy rueing the evening, her good mood quickly disappearing as the minute went by.

Damn it, this just wasn't fair.

Itachi walked in a few seconds after they did, his wood neatly piled in his hands.

_'Great... just the person I want to see...' _thoughts were dripping with sarcasm. She didn't even bother to hear inner's comment, and finished up washing the dishes, with much more force that needed, mind you.

Frankly, the feeling was mutual.

**END OF CHAPTER**

**hmm, I feel like I ended this chapter a little too soon... it's cuz i want to keep the beginning of whatever kisame and the girls are gonna do in a seperate chapter so i dont have to split it into 2 chaps and have it confuse people :o**

**Anyway, i did promise to update this week, and I did... only, it is kinda late into the week xD**

**But yeah... let me just say, I got _over 40 _reviews last chapter....!!!!! i luv you all so much!!! keep it up, yes? :D**

**-Marzy-chan~~! :))**


	12. Sleep

**Hey everyone! Sorry it took me so long to update but here's the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters!**

**Chapter 11: Sleep**

"You know, it's getting pretty late." Sakura eyed the clock hanging on the wall above the fireplace.

"Just a little longer please?" Suki pouted.

"Yeah, we don't have school tomorrow." Suzuki pleaded.

"I wouldn't want you guys over-sleeping." Sakura stated. "And as I recall," she glanced at Kisame and Itachi, "you guys have some… _things_ you must take care of tomorrow." She was obviously referring to the mission they had received from Pein –the sole reason they were here now.

Suki, Suzuki, and Kisame groaned at the same time.

"Do we have to?" they repeated simultaneously.

"Yes." Sakura snapped, almost snorting at Kisame's child-like attitude. Who would've ever known Kisame could act so… _normal_… if not maybe just a little less than normal for his child-like attitude at age… what, thirty something?

"Yes mother." Kisame said sarcastically, rolling his eyes and standing up, yawning and stretching slightly.

Sakura merely smiled a victorious smile. It was nice when you could verbally defeat a missing-nin of his status. Maybe she really had gotten Tsunade's attitude and characteristics. She could only pray she didn't act as Tsunade did when drunk and mad though…

"Goodnight Sakura, my dear." Sera hummed out as she walked towards Sakura and gave her a bear hug and kiss to the forehead.

"Goodnight Sera." Sakura nodded, hugging Sera back.

Sera then focused her attention towards Kisame and Itachi. "I will see you both tomorrow, yes?" Her question was filled with so much hope and plea, Kisame couldn't help but smile.

"We'll see what we can do." He merely replied. Who knew, maybe they would find Orochimaru's base early and would have to return to Lightning. But then again… waiting for the snow to pass wouldn't be _too _bad. Especially not when he would be amused for the most part, trying to see how far Itachi could go before cracking…

"Excellent!" Sera shouted in glee. "You two _must _try my onigiri and sashimi salad before you leave. Everyone tells me it's the best they've ever tasted." Sera exclaimed with glee.

Kisame grinned. "I'm sure I speak for both of us when I say we can't wait to taste it then, Sera. We'll see you tomorrow." Kisame nodded. Kisame happened to know Itachi was rather fond of onigiri, so he was almost sure even Itachi was slightly anticipating being able to taste her food.

"Goodnight m'boys." She hummed out and nearly tackled Kisame in a bear hug, and did the same with Itachi before he could even think about avoiding it.

Kisame could see the corner of Itachi's eye twitch just the slightest. Maybe this was where Suki and Suzuki got their clingy attitude… Kisame chuckled. _'I almost feel bad for Itachi… almost.'_

Kisame quickly told the kids goodnight, promising he'd see them tomorrow, before Sakura ushered them outside before the blizzard got any worse, each of them carrying a small pile of firewood for her home.

"What blizzard?" Kisame asked quizzically. His answer came shortly after when Sakura opened the door and raised an elegant eyebrow at him, as if saying "_that blizzard_". "How'd you know there was a blizzard outside?" Kisame questioned as they hurriedly turned right and headed towards Sakura home. You really couldn't hear it inside, mostly because there was too much noise, and she had never gone outside to check the weather.

"It's Sound… and we're in the middle of blizzard season." Sakura sighed, almost regrettably. "The only downfall Sound has is that by six o'clock the temperature drops drastically and the blizzards pick up again. I'll give it about four days before we don't see the sun for the rest of the month." Sakura said.

"That just means we have to hurry up then." Kisame sighed.

"That or you could be stuck with me and Sera for the rest of the month." The corner of Sakura's mouth quirked upwards into a mocking smile. "But, I highly doubt Itachi here would enjoy loud squealing and hugs from Suki and Suzuki, and that crazed mother of theirs for the rest of the month." Sakura tried her best to stifle her laughter. She still earned a slight glare from Itachi though. Oddly enough, it didn't scare Sakura as much as she thought it would have, seeing those deadly eyes spin.

"Oh, and since when did _you _become an Itachi expert? Maybe he enjoys that atmosphere around him." Kisame raised a quizzical eyebrow at Sakura.

Both were in a heated stare down for several seconds before they busted up laughing. "Itachi, enjoy squealing and hugs? Yeah, like _that _would ever happen." Sakura stated in between laughs as she rummaged her pocket for the keys to her house.

Seconds later, they were all inside the house, shrugging off their coats and setting the firewood down by the fireplace.

"Itachi… do you mind starting the fire?" Sakura asked almost hesitantly. "I'm not very good at fire techniques." She avoided eye contact with him, looking to the side slyly as she recalled the time she almost burned her hair off trying to do a fire technique Kakashi had tried –and failed miserably- at teaching her.

Itachi gave her a curt nod as he walked towards the fireplace and began setting the wood down neatly, meanwhile Sakura began brewing tea.

"Okay, the bathroom is to the right, down the hallway and straight ahead. My bedroom is directly to the left." Sakura pointed out. "I'm going to go change right now, so if you would both excuse me…" She nodded at them before she disappeared into her bedroom.

Sakura quickly changed into the heavy black sweat pants she had received from Konan and a red, long-sleeved shirt with a black kunai in between her breasts. Afterwards, she brushed out her pink locks and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

When Sakura returned to the living room, she carried with her two blankets and a pillow, and set them down at the edge of the sofa.

"So umm, I figured you'd be warm soon enough considering you're right next to the fire, so you don't need that many blankets." She directed her attention towards Itachi as she went back to the kitchen and turned off the fire, getting a cup and filling it up with the tea.

"Perfect" Kisame said as he jumped on the sofa and lay feet crossed and hands behind his head. He closed his eyes and sighed as he felt the warm fire already reach out near his face.

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Isn't Itachi sleeping there?" she asked as she approached the coach.

"Hmm…?" Kisame opened one eye and peeked at Sakura. "Oh, there was a change of plans. You're sleeping with Itachi."

Had Sakura not been extremely shocked, she would have dropped her teacup. Fortunately, his words froze her to the spot. "W-W-What…?" Sakura stuttered out, obviously perplexed.

"Yeah… we agreed Itachi didn't really want to sleep on a couch, and much more preferred a bed. Besides, every time hotels somehow only end up having bedrooms with one bed, I always end up sleeping on the floor. Itachi refuses to give up the bed." Kisame explained, and then turned to his side, this time facing Itachi. "Isn't that right, Itachi?"

Itachi felt like glaring at Kisame, seeing his daring smirk. Itachi hn'ed seconds later, bitterly almost, and reminded himself to later make sure he did something absolutely horrible to Kisame. Maybe letting him get hit by all the booby traps in Orochimaru's lair would work… But then again, maybe it wasn't enough of a punishment…

"I…see…" These were the only words Sakura was capable of letting out at the moment... she could only pray she did not begin hyperventilating.

'**Oh, my, god… we're sleeping with Itachi! HOLD ME!' **inner squealed maniacally.

'…_Inner… do me a favor and shut up.' _Sakura could only blink.

"Yuuup…" Kisame closed his eyes once more, finally appreciating his handy work. He wondered how the night would go. He didn't have much to worry about. The only problem he really had was that hit feet were sticking out of the couch.

Oh, and that Itachi would probably murder him tomorrow, but that, was another day. He had learned to appreciate now more than later… Even though by doing that he would receive a lot of pain… But hey, it wasn't like he wasn't in pain nearly every day… it was bound to happen being in Akatsuki and all…

Sakura blinked several times before she mustered up the strengths to turn around and walk away, her tea cup quivering oh-so slightly. By the time she had reached her room, the quivering had become so bad, she had to set it down on her night table in order to not spill it on the floor.

'_Come on Sakura… it's nothing too bad. You were going to sleep next to Kisame and didn't mind.' _She tried to give herself a pep talk. _'Yeah, it's just Itachi... nothing else. Besides, what could be the worst that could happen?'_

Luckily, she had zoned inner out before she could even suggest anything. She really didn't need to be panicking about things that would surely _never _happen. Inner really did have a way of making her paranoid as hell…

The tea had helped Sakura calm down, and even made her slightly sleepy. The good thing was, by the time she had settled into the chilly bed with three blankets over her, Itachi was nowhere in sight. This only meant she wouldn't be awake when he actually entered the room and lay next to her. Goody, she was so happy. With these thoughts in mind, she was finally able to close her eyes and let her mind wander into the land of her dreams.

(Inner wasn't)

It had been about twenty minutes since Sakura had retired to her bedroom…

And Itachi was still sitting down on the couch beside Kisame's, glaring at the fire, though by now, it had numbed to a mere hard stare.

"It's getting pretty late." Kisame faked a yawn. "Maybe you should get going. We have a long day tomorrow."

Itachi glared at Kisame irritably and stood up slowly, walking towards the bathroom, scroll in his hand. Itachi quickly brushed his teeth and afterwards stared at himself in the mirror in front of the sink. So calm he looked, yet inside he was going slightly crazy. This whole… set up, as he called it, was preposterous. How could they possibly think he could end up with that kunoichi! One that had belonged to his younger brother until just recently even.

All he happened to know about her was that her name was Sakura Haruno, and she was the ex apprentice of the fifth Godaime of Konoha. Oh, and that she was overly emotional and had exceptional chakra-control and inhuman strength.

Yup, that summed about most of everything up.

Hiding the small headache this was just begging to explode, he exited the bathroom, turning off the light and then made his way to Sakura's bedroom, where he found her huddled in a fetal position to the left of the bed.

He summed up she was cold, considering there was a scowl on her face and she shivered ever so often. He didn't quite understand how she could still be cold when buried in so many thick blankets, and he was perfectly fine with just his black sweat pants and fishnet long-sleeve. But then again, his fire affinity did always keep him cozy, and she had said she wasn't the best at it…

Making his way to the other side of the bed, he almost hesitated getting into the bed, and highly contemplated just sleeping on the floor and telling Kisame otherwise. But then again, that man would probably already be able to see through his lies…

Oh, what was he going to do now?

Closing his eyes slightly, and then reopening them, his confidence anew, he climbed onto the bed and pulled the blankets over him, trying to keep as much distance from them as possible. Still, it wasn't as big as a bed as he would have liked for it to be. His shoulder accidently brushed again her arm.

And then…

All hell broke loose.

Sakura literally grabbed Itachi's arm and brought him closer, burrowing her head at the crook of his neck and wrapping her arms around his arm.

Itachi breath hitched in his throat. He was so shocked he was rendered motionless as he let the kunoichi now partly on him move her hands all over his chest.

What had gotten _into her?_

He heard her moan slightly from under her breath. "Warm…" he was barely able to make out.

His eye twitched as he let out a low moan. This woman was attacking him… because she was _cold? _Unbelievable! The mess he had gotten himself into. He should of just admitted he had a fear of woman –and a new found fear for the woman on him- and slept on the couch.

It was two hours into the night now…

Sakura had managed to hog all the blankets, now looking like a cocoon around her. She had also punched Itachi in the face twice and put her leg around him too many times to count.

He almost felt like waking her up and telling her to stop her… savage attacks on his pride… Really, how sad was it he couldn't even keep back a woman?

Hey, in his defense, who the _hell _used their chakra in their sleep? The mere thought made him glare at the ceiling.

Ughh, this girl was a real pain in the ass, he had to admit. If this was her in her sleep… well, he'd rather not imagine what she could _really _do in combat. So far, he had only seen a few kunai throwing, and even the speed of those was enough to impress him slightly, even though he wouldn't admit it in front of anyone…

This time, he didn't hesitate, and grabbed her leg and once again, pried it off of him (this time not as gentle as he had done before) and put it back on her side, if you would call it that. In his opinion, she was taking up more than half the bed.

Due to the harshness of his grasp on her leg, Sakura's eyes opened slightly, and she being faced to face with Itachi, couldn't help but blink a couple of times, though just barely.

"Sasuke…-kun" she smiled gently as she placed a hand on his head and started playing with his hair. "You smell good." She gave a small stifle of a laugh and then closed her eyes once more.

Itachi's breath hitched in his throat and he prayed she fell asleep once more… Being called Sasuke wasn't something he wanted…

"You're hair's getting long. I told you to cut it." There was slight concern and scolding in her tone as she grabbed a lock of his hair and started playing with it.

Itachi's heart thudded a little faster and harder than usual for several seconds.

"But you never listen…" she continued. "I really don't understand why I care so much… you're always so stubborn…"

With that, Sakura shut up, and fortunately, her mouth was kept shut for the rest of the night.

Oh, besides a snore or two.

'_So… warm…' _Sakura snuggled closer to the source of warmth underneath her.

Inner cackled maniacally in the background.

'_Mmm' _she groaned. _'Shut up inner. I haven't been this warm since the last time I visited Suna. Let me enjoy this.'_

'**If you say so… as long as you don't complain later on.' **Inner shrugged.

Sakura mentally snorted. _'What would I have to complain about exactly?'_

Inner could only think Sakura had no idea… In truth, it was _inner _who had nothing to complain about. **'And to think she never paused to think why she was so warm **_**now **_**when all her past nights had been beyond cold even when she was in front of a fire.' **Inner rolled her eyes and shook her head. And to think the perfect little genius she had helped create couldn't even be logical enough to figure this out…

This made Sakura think slightly, and mustering up her strengths, even though she was still reluctant to do so (she was having such nice sleep and she had a feeling whatever inner was talking about would ruin her morning), she peeked one eye open.

At first, she didn't see anything. Sakura waited for her eyes to accustom to her surroundings, only to find it black still. Moving her head to the right a little, she saw soft, tan…

'_SKIN?'_

Now that she was more awake and acute to her senses, she became much more aware of her body. Instead of the soft mattress, she was on bulky and firm material; lumpy and tough, but also soft, comfortable, and most importantly (and maybe the sole reason she was mounted on whatever item she was on), _warm_.

Now being much, much, _much _more aware she stilled herself, afraid her shaking might wake him up. Her eyes widened, and the breath that had been coming out soft and calm, now hitched in her throat.

'_Oh my god, I'm on Itachi aren't I?' _her eyes flinched as she momentarily hoped inner would decide to say "No, it's just a big fluffy stuffed animal Kisame planted in your bed sometime last night."

'**Yuuup!' **inner ruined her parade, burst her bubble, and pooped on her party all at once.

"Would it be too much to ask for you to remove yourself from my being now that you are… ah, conscious?" Itachi inquired, and Sakura felt his masculine voice reverberate in his throat. (No kidding, her cheek was literally pushed up right next to it!). He had been up for a few minutes now, and he couldn't be any more relieved that Sakura was finally waking up.

Sakura tried oh-so hard not to squeak…

While Itachi was just relieved his nightmare was now coming to an end. His eyes were still closed, because he was still praying Sakura would not be able to tell he was tense all over. He disliked contact with the female population. So for a female (and the Haruno, of all people) to have slept _on him_… it was just too much…

"It seems you guys slept well."

Okay, _now _Sakura squeaked a high-pitched squeal, right into Itachi's ear.

And no, Itachi did not flinch because of the loudness that was Sakura. He flinched because of the sneaky deviousness that was Kisame.

Kisame tried not to crack up. Man, if he had only brought a camera with him… Konan would have paid _BIG TIME _to get such glorious black mail over Itachi… The Mighty Itachi Uchiha… being crumbled like a piece of coffee cake in front of the little girl in front, above, or on him right now… either term fit rather nicely.

Sakura, still too shocked of not only being on Itachi, but of having Kisame there seeing them, parted her lips to speak. "Kisame… how long have you been standing there, exactly?" she could only guess he was by the door by hearing the loudness of his voice.

"Hmmm…" he contemplated his answer. "Long enough to have gotten a good laugh, brought Suki, Suzuki, and Sera over here, and have gotten _another _good laugh." Kisame replied slyly.

Sakura was now shaking in no, not nervousness, but in embarrassment and anger. "You did _what?_"

"Would you please refrain from screaming in my ear, Haruno-san." Itachi stated calmly, though you could tell he was still waiting for Sakura to get off of him. Seriously, all he wanted was the girl to get off of him before he burst and decided he needed to mutilate her right this second. Great day he was waking up to, _wasn't it_? Itachi almost cringed at the thought.

Itachi heaved a microscopic sigh of relief as Sakura rolled off slowly (Itachi mentally thanked the gods that still looked after him, if there were any still) and Itachi watched as she knelt up and started rubbing her eyes tiredly in a cute childlike manner.

WHOA! Hold that thought! Cute? Where was this coming from?

Itachi mentally slapped himself. No, he did not find the Haruno girl attractive. And he most certainly did not find her interesting in the least, nor entertaining, or in any way pleasant to be around. No, No, No. Absolutely not.

"Oh, by the way, they're waiting for us to eat breakfast." Kisame spoke once more.

"Greaaat." Sakura stretched her arms, not at all trying to hide the sarcasm in her tone.

Scowling, she got up and headed for the bathroom.

She had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time she heard about this today…

And she was right. In fact, the first thing Sakura heard as she entered Sera's house was "So how was your sleep?" by Suki and Suzuki.

And again, the same exact question was asked as she sat down on the dining table, by Sera herself.

"Geez, no good morning?" she retorted, taking a vicious bite of her toast with butter.

"Oh, but that's day-to-day talk Sakura dear." Sera replied. "Enough of the boring stuff."

"And that's not a thing you as daily?" Sakura scowled. "And for your information, sleep is one of the most boring things you could ever converse about." Sakura glowered.

"You know what we all mean." Suki whined.

Sakura raised her eyebrow at Suki. "Pardon, but I don't." she snapped. "Sleep was the same as it usually was. And I believe you're making our guest uncomfortable by speaking of our sleeping arrangements." Sakura tried changing the subject, tired of having all the attention brought to her.

"Fine, fine, we'll change the subject." Sera sighed unhappily after a few moments. There were several seconds of silence until Sera spoke up again. "You know Miyuki right?" Sera asked.

"The owner of the house at the end of this block, right?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah" Sera nodded. "Well, her son, Kairi, has broken his arm. She came a few minutes before you arrived to ask if she could get your medical expertise to help heal his arm." Sera continued.

"Well, I never have anything on my agenda nowadays so sure, why not." Sakura smiled. "I'll drop by there after breakfast.

Sakura quickly took a sip of her milk, before resuming the conversation.

"Kairi…" she paused slightly, recalling her memories of the men she had seen in the town. "Is he one of the boys around my age?" Sakura questioned.

"Yeah." Sera nodded. "He's the one with red hair and blue eyes." Sera said. "He happens to be Aya's brother too… they're twins." Sera smiled.

"Oh really?" Sakura was shocked. "Aya told me she had a brother… but I wouldn't have imagined a twin…" Sakura said. "But still… Kairi…" she frowned slightly.

"You're talking about the weird looks he kept giving you, huh Sakura-kaasan." Suzuki asked.

"Weird looks?" Kisame questioned.

"Oh, it's nothing." Sera dismissed it with a wave of her hands. "That boy has a crush on you, I'm telling you Sakura."

Sakura blushed and sunk down in her chair a tad bit.

She could recall at least ten cases at the top of her head where bone head Konoha-nins would try to pull a move on her while she was examining them. And well, most of the time they left the hospital in a worse condition than they had come in…

She really didn't want to start with a record of being one of the meanest and toughest medics either…

"Please Sera, don't jinx it…" she sighed. "I'm so not into the blushing rabid fan boys." She sighed hopelessly.

Sera giggled lightly. "Well what do you expect? With looks like those you can't seriously expect to go somewhere unnoticed."

'_Well excuse me for being accustomed to being followed everywhere by the nine-tailed Jinchuuriki, the most powerful ninja in Konoha, and sole survivor of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, and the famous Copy-Cat nin, also the second youngest ANBU in Konoha…' _Sakura thought as she sighed, and sunk deeper into her chair. "Let's just say I was well protected back home…" she muttered darkly. "And when that failed me, even my fists were good enough back-up."

Kisame chuckled at her last comment. "They'll make good enough back-up for most of anything kitten. Just relax. If he tries to pull a move on you just-"

"Before you go on Kisame, I don't plan on getting a reputation of being violent and masochistic." Sakura glared.

"Well then maybe you could- no that won't work…" Kisame cut himself off. "How about…! No, that won't do either…" Kisame glowered. He never knew how hard it could be to come up with a plan to scare someone without harming them or getting a bad reputation for it…"You're on your own." He finally decided after several minutes of contemplating.

"Thanks, like I didn't already know that." Sakura said sarcastically and rolled her eyes.

Kisame merely hmph'ed before focusing back on his pancakes and taking a bite of them. "This is very good Sera." Kisame complimented.

"Oh thank you!" Sera squealed. "You see, I add a pinch of cinnamon to it to give it a sweet taste." Sera said.

"Yeah, and it's even yummier with chocolate chips in your pancakes!" Suzuki giggled and bit into her own pancake, which was seasoned with small brown chunks everywhere.

Sakura smiled sweetly and focused her attention back to Kisame. "What time should I expect you two be back from your… mission?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"Well…" Kisame looked at Itachi for an answer.

"Late afternoon before the blizzards kick in." Itachi nodded at Sakura.

"Will you two make it in time to try my onigir?" Sera pouted.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world Sera." Kisame smiled.

"Excellent" Sera clapped gleefully.

"Sakura-kaasan, will you drop us off at school?" Suki asked.

"It's on the way to Miyuki's house, so I don't see why not." Sakura shrugged at smiled.

"And Kisame-niisan and Itachi-tousan?" Suzuki added.

Sakura tried not to flinch at Itachi's endearment, and looked at them, as if waiting for their answer.

"It can't hurt." Kisame replied before Itachi could even think about denying their request. He knew he'd get an earful (not really, Itachi never spoke much even when angry; actions spoke more than words, in his dictionary) while searching for Orochimaru's lair.

Within five minutes, the five of them were off to the small schoolyard just a few blocks away. Oddly enough, Suki and Suzuki had chosen to hold _Kisame's _hand, instead of Sakura. Now, she wasn't greedy at all, but…

'_Those are __**my**__hands!' _Sakura thought viciously, having a fiery glare set on Kisame. And what was even worse was that they decided to 'run ahead so as to not be late'. _'My ass! They're fifteen minutes early!' _

Sakura wasn't dumb. She wasn't dense… well, maybe slightly… but even _she _could see what Kisame were trying to do.

'_That little bastard's trying to take my children away from me!' _Sakura would be in tears right now, had she not been much too aware that Itachi was staring at her from the corner of his eyes.

Inner dropped to the floor seconds later hearing Sakura's lame excuse. **'And I'd think this girl would have at least an ounce of common sense.' **Inner shook her head disapprovingly. Where had she gone wrong teaching this girl? Maybe they could have done without the intensive fan girl training but…

'_What do you mean?'_ Sakura glared at nothing in particular.

'**They're obviously trying to get you and Itachi alone together, DUH!' **inner rolled her eyes.

'… _I see…'_

Now that she did think about it, it made sense.She was just… off her rocker? Seriously, how exactly had she gotten on Itachi last night? She knew she wasn't the calmest and quietest of sleepers, for Naruto had always complained when they were stuck in a tent together, and Ino would always laugh at her whenever they had sleepovers, saying she'd talk about Sasuke in her sleep often… and-

Oh god.

Nah, what were the chances…?

Still, Sakura didn't like the unnerving silence that was now consuming them, and she decided, what the hell? It couldn't really hurt to try to get in a daily conversation with him, would it?

"Umm… I-Itachi?" Great, now she was stuttering. _'Focus Sakura, focus god damnit!' _Sakura mentally slapped herself.

"Hm?" he hummed out.

"Sorry for umm… last night…" She looked to the left slyly, avoiding eye contact with Itachi.

"Ahh…" Itachi said. "Apology accepted, Haruno-san." Even though he said that, his thoughts said otherwise.

"Oh please, stop with the formalness… call me Sakura." She smiled.

Even though she said that, Itachi found it hard to even speak her name after… well… last night…

"_I really don't understand why I care so much… you're always so stubborn…"_

She clearly wasn't as happy as she looked, Itachi thought. The fact that she was still dreaming about Sasuke meant she still hadn't gotten over her affection for his younger brother. And that could only mean she was still in a fragile state of dependency on someone to lean one after this great mishap. Maybe that was what Kisame, Sera, and the two little girls were for Sakura.

"Very well, Sakura-san." He looked at her while speaking. He really didn't understand why this girl cares so much. It was just a name…

"Sa-ku-ra." Sakura glared a teasing glare at him. "You don't need to be so formal Itachi." She smiled brightly at him.

"…Hn…" he looked away quickly. "Why do you care so much?" he asked.

"Huh?" Sakura questioned.

"About the way I address your name." Itachi clarified.

"Because…" Sakura pouted, "We're friends now." She smiled. "And friends aren't so formal and up-tight." Sakura explained.

"…Friends?"

"Oh, come on Itachi, don't tell me you don't know what friends are?" she teased him.

Itachi glared. Of course he knew what _friends_ **were** of all things… he just…

He never had friends…

Besides Shisui and Kisame, that is.

And he had killed one of them, no less…

He must make a horrible friend….

"Nothing good usually comes from befriending an S-Class criminal." Itachi stated, as if trying to tell her of all the troubles that came with becoming friends with Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, both part of the Akatsuki, the organization that was after a person who until just recently, had been her best friend.

"Well, those are risks I'm willing to take." Sakura smiled.

Itachi couldn't help but think she was being irrational and slightly idiotic. Why would she purposely put herself in danger just because of a friend? She couldn't just… be friends with the people here and have a decent, quiet life? What he would give in order to have a normal life again… But no, there was no turning back… It wasn't like Sasuke would ever forgive him… it's not like he could take everything back…

Itachi kept quiet, for he knew if he did indeed decide to open his mouth up once more, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from calling her a dimwit.

And lucky for him, Kisame and the two girls were getting closer and closer with every stride, meaning they had reached their destination.

Before Itachi knew it, Sakura was now alongside Suki and Suzuki, tucking in their shirts and adjusting their hair like any mother or sister would.

Sakura-kaasan, will you pick us up from school?" Suki asked.

"I'll see what I can do girls. If not, I'm sure Sera will be here when you guys come out." Sakura replied.

They nodded just as the school bell rang, and they grabbed each other's hands and ran inside the school building. Sakura couldn't help but stare in awe at the bundle of cuteness that they were.

After they were completely deserted, Sakura recomposed herself and started walking alongside Kisame and Itachi to the forest.

"What are the chances you may need my medical assistance?" Sakura asked.

"It's… highly probable." Kisame contemplated his answer for a while, before deciding maybe if he didn't get hurt on the hunt for the scroll, maybe it would be Itachi himself to inflict injuries and pain.

"Very well, I won't overdue it then. Of course, that'll mean I'll have to visit that Daisuke guy a few more times than I had originally planned…" at that comment, Sakura crinkled her nose and disgust and scrunched her eyebrows together.

"You really don't like that kid do you?" Kisame laughed.

"I would have no problem with him if I didn't feel his stares at random times of the day when I'm walking down the street or picking of the kids." Sakura shrugged. "I'm not a big fan of males that make it obvious they have a thing for you." Sakura sighed.

"Are you walking us all the way there?" Kisame asked, changing the subject. He knew that if Sakura kept thinking about it, the more nervous she would get.

"Nah, Miyuki's house is just a few blocks away from the forest. You guys are actually dropping _me _off." Sakura winked. "We will see you two at Sera's house for dinner, right?" Sakura asked. "She was going to make her famous Onigiri and Shashimi Salad." Sakura said.

"Oh, you're almost assured we'll be there with that for dinner." Kisame said, "Itachi and I happen to be big fans of Onigiri, you see." Kisame explained.

"Excellent. I'm sure Sera will try to put as much flavor into it since there are guests." Sakura said. "Just don't let her down. She could get pretty feisty." Sakura tried not to laugh as she recalled the time her husband said he would be home to try her new recipe, and he never showed up. "But then again, I'm sure she wouldn't lay a finger on you two." Sakura sighed.

"Why? Do you think she knows we're S-Class missing-nin?" Kisame nudged Sakura in the rub.

"Of course not" Sakura snapped. The idea was preposterous. She had made sure Itachi and Kisame seemed to be the nicest of people, even though one was six feet tall and shark-looking, and the other one looked like he hated the world and everyone in it the whole time. "I don't know why, but Sera seems to really like you two." Sakura shrugged.

"Maybe it's because we saved your life." Kisame said.

Sakura laughed. "That's a very likely possibility.

And as they rounded the corner, Sakura slowed to a stop. "Well, this is where I leave you two." She sighed. "Wish me luck." She shook her head.

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad." Kisame shrugged. "You're just over exaggerating." He paused shortly afterwards Sakura did, and turned around to face her.

"You'd think I was." Sakura shook her head in dismay. "Whatever. Just make sure you guys don't die on me." she gave them a small wave.

"We'll try not to." Kisame laughed as he and Itachi kept walking onwards towards the forest.

Sakura sighed and watched them walk towards the snow-filled forest before inhaling deeply and knocking on the door.

"Hello, Miyuki? It's Sakura."

**End of Chapter**

**Hey everyone, I got it up like I said I would. Is this a good enough reason for you all to not kill me? =D**

**Anyway… I had a few reviewers the other day (and maybe a few ages ago xD) tell me that they prefer SASUXSAKU. Now, the sole purpose of me posting this on fan fiction was to please you, the readers… So…**

**Decisions, decision… **

**I was going to make this a 2 or 3 part fic, and might end it soon after Akatsuki leaves from their mission. **

**So, here's my idea! Is it possible to write 2 different versions of this fic? This would be the first part, and there would be 2 sequels, I guess you could say? One with the pairing Itaxsaku and one with the pairing sasuxsaku….**

**So, can someone please help me? Is this a good idea (to please everyone I can) and most importantly, is this allowed on fan fiction?**

**Anyway, hope you all liked the chapter, I would appreciate reviews! **

**-Marzy-chan~~! :))**


	13. Disastorous

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form**

_Re__cap_

* * *

_"Why? Do you think she knows we're S-Class missing-nin?" Kisame nudged Sakura in the rub._

_"Of course not" Sakura snapped. The idea was preposterous. She had made sure Itachi and Kisame seemed to be the nicest of people, even though one was six feet tall and shark-looking, and the other one looked like he hated the world and everyone in it the whole time. "I don't know why, but Sera seems to really like you two." Sakura shrugged._

_"Maybe it's because we saved your life." Kisame said._

_Sakura laughed. "That's a very likely possibility."_

_And as they rounded the corner, Sakura slowed to a stop. "Well, this is where I leave you two." She sighed. "Wish me luck." She shook her head._

_"Oh come on, it can't be that bad." Kisame shrugged. "You're just over exaggerating." He paused shortly afterwards Sakura did, and turned around to face her._

_"You'd think I was." Sakura shook her head in dismay. "Whatever. Just make sure you guys don't die on me." she gave them a small wave._

_"We'll try not to." Kisame laughed as he and Itachi kept walking onwards towards the forest._

_Sakura sighed and watched them walk towards the snow-filled forest before inhaling deeply and knocking on the door._

_"Hello, Miyuki? It's Sakura."_

* * *

**Chapter 13: Healing Session 1**

"Nice guess." Aya smiled bubbly.

Sakura laughed. "So good to see you Aya!" she smiled, hugging her friend.

"Yeah, it's been a while, and poor Sakura hasn't bothered to visit me." she said slightly sarcastically, faking a dramatic look.

"Sorry, I've been pretty busy lately, hard to believe, I know." Sakura laughed.

"I guess you _have_been pretty busy, dealing with that hunk of gorgeous that just walked away." Aya smiled deviously, sarcastically almost.

"W-What?" Sakura questioned.

"Oh, don't give me that look Sakura." Aya stepped aside to let Sakura walk inside. "Anyone _that _attractive is bound to give you a hassle, after all." Before Sakura could even ask how she knew about Itachi, Aya spoke once more. "I was staring out the window -you could say my hunk senses were tingling." she rubbed her head sheepishly.

"Or... Sera told you, didn't she?" Sakura glared.

"Hmmm, Sera actually told Kaa-san, who told me, but what's the difference?" she brushed the comment aside with a wave, and an awkward laugh.

"What exactly did Sera tell you, because I swear there is _nothing _going on between us." Sakura shook her head in dismay.

"Hey, hey, don't get crazy! I've heard nothing about you two whatsoever. All I heard was that you were having a few guests over, and by the looks of it, one of them was hawt with a capital H." Aya giggled.

"Kami, thank you. I swear, all I said was he wasn't ugly and 'whoa, look at this! She's in love with him everybody!' Sera really needs to be realistic" Sakura rolled her eyes.

"You two _do_look cute together...but don't worry, I'm not one to gossip" Aya winked. "So how long have you two known each other?" Aya said absent-mindedly as she leaned on the kitchen counter.

Sakura scoffed. "Give it a week." she glared.

Aya whistled in astonishment. "Has he shown any signs he's into to you?" Aya asked.

Sakura scoffed once more. "Not in the slightest, thank god. Trust me, Itachi isn't one to go for woman... especially not one he just barely met a week ago." Sakura said.

"Not one to go for woman? So he's gay?" Aya blurted.

Sakura blushed. "Oh God, of course no..." Sakura quickly rejected. "Let's just say, I sort of had a thing with his younger brother before coming here..." Sakura looked down sadly.

"Oh..." Aya frowned. Sakura had already told her about what had happened to her...

"Aya! Get me some juice please!" a voice came from a seperate room. Sakura guessed it was Kairi's.

"Get it yourself you big baby!" Aya shouted back. "Your arm might be broken but that doesn't make me your slave!" she glared at the wall. She turned back to Sakura and smiled widely. "Don't you just love little brothers?" her voice was sarcastic (obviously).

Sakura laughed. "You're like what? 30 seconds older than him?" Sakura laughed.

"A minutes and forty-five seconds, and I never let him forget it, actually." Aya stuck her head up proudly, and Sakura laughed some more.

"Geez Aya, you're the worst sister ever." Kairi appeared in the doorway, grumbling. As soon as he saw Sakura, he froze and blushed a tomato red. "H-H-Hi S-Sakura."

"Umm... hi Kairi..." she gave him a half-assed smile.

"Oh yeah, you were suppose to check up on his arm. I almost forgot." Aya laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. "Well, mom's shopping right now, so she should be back in around an hour. I'm gonna go check in to the bathouse for a much needed relaxing session." Aya decided, yawning slightly and rubbing her shoulders.

Sakura's eyes widened slightly. And here she was hoping Aya would have stayed while in their little medical session. "Why don't you just stay here with me and then we go to the bathhouse together?" Sakura suggested.

"Well, I actually had to start my day-care job in 30 minutes..." Aya frowned. "Sorry Sakura."

Sakura sighed. "It's okay, I guess." She tried not to make it that obvious she didn't want to be under the same roof with Kairi by herself... even though Aya could probably already guess. Seriously, they lived under the same roof and all... it was no surprise she had heard Kairi talk about how pretty Sakura was, and how much he'd complain that Aya never had her come over...

(This was actually an issue that occured daily)

"If you ask me, he broke his arm on purpose." Aya whispered in Sakura's ear.

"Gee, thanks, that makes me feel _so _much better." Sakura muttered under her breath, glaring at Aya.

Aya sweat-dropped, smiling sheepishly. "Well... ughh, I guess I'll take my leave!"

Aya disappeared before Sakura had any time to protest.

Sakura sighed. _'Great... now I'm stuck with...' _Sakura paused momentarily, to glance at Kairi, who was still oggling her, his mouth partly open, a little drool coming out, _'this' _Sakura shivered. _'Why couldn't Kairi be as cool as his older sister?' _Sakura whined.

**'Now isn't being in a cozy bed next to Itachi much better than this?' **

_'For once, I think you're right inner...' _

Sakura sighed. This would be the worst thrity minutes of her life.

* * *

"So..." Kisame trailed off.

Itachi glanced at him for a split second, before focusing back to the area filled with snow, his Sharingan ablaze.

"How exactly did you sleep?" Kisame said, swiflty ducking a kunai less than a second after. "Hey, this is a genuine question!" Kisame protested. "I'm actually really curious to know if it really did affect you sleeping next to Sakura.

Itachi glared. Of _course _it affected him! That's why it was his **phobia.**Kisame was truly evil. "I despise you." he merely stated.

"Aww, come on Itachi, it couldn't have been _that bad._" Kisame said.

"She punched me in her sleep." Itachi seethed, his eyes narrowed.

"...maybe you were too close to her and she felt threatened?" Kisame asked.

"Pardon, but you saw the sleeping arrangements." Itachi said. "If anything, I was the one wrongfully violated."

Kisame laughed. "Stop being such a pansy Itachi. Any other man would've enjoyed being in that close proximity with such a beautiful kunoichi." Kisame said.

"Then why didn't _you_indulge yourself with the presence of the Haruno?" Itachi questioned, as they moved on to the next area; Orochimaru's lair was inevitably not there.

"Because I am too old for her." Kisame replied, laughing.

"And I'm not?" Itachi stared at him curiously.

"Six years is nothing." Kisame shook his head. "Sixteen years, on the other hand," Kisame laughed "is a little too much, don't you think? Besides, I see Sakura as a little sister I pick on all the time, but do indeed care deeply for."

"She's my younger brother's woman." Itachi glared.

"_Was_" Kisame corrected, a sort of cheery tone in his voice.

"My views on this subject stand firm." Itachi was hardly faced by his comment, and tried not to roll his eyes at Kisame.

"So what, are you saying if she hadn't previously belonged to Sasuke you'd think abou-"

"No" Itachi interjected.

"She's pretty though."

"I am not interested in her." Itachi glared.

"I can see why Hidan thought you gay," he mumured, sliyly looking to the right, "you pass up a chance to be with a beautiful woman, mind you, probably the only one besides Konan who doesn't think you a sadistic murderer." he added quickly, so as to keep Itachi from decapitating him. Seriously, you should never put 'Itachi' and 'gay' in the same sentence unless 'is not' is in between the words, or else you would have seriously problems.

"It is not the first time I've done so." Itachi ignored Kisame.

"Would you really pass up a chance to be happy?" his question was sincere. It was hard to find love; especially when you were a member in Akatsuki. If you ask him, Konan and Leader had it pretty good. Maybe what they had wasn't necessarily love (but he'd beg to differ), but they had been friends since childhood. They knew everything about each other, and they loved being near each other, and having each other's company. And wasn't that what love was about, after all?

Itachi never replied; Kisame had lost hope for an answer sometime after the fifth second.

In truth, Itachi didn't quite know how to reply to that. He'd walked away from happiness before. Torn his ties so badly, there was no way to gain them once more. When he was thirteen when you'd hear Itachi's name you'd here of all his accomplishments, one of which being entering ANBU Black Ops at the age of thirteen. But now... what had he truly become? It wasn't like what he did was _him. _It wasn't in his nature to kill and ruin lives (his own was an exception). He had been okay with it; it had all been for Sasuke. But after so many years of this (thirteen to be precise), one gets tired of living in lies and in darkness. But there was not much he could still do, even after considering not being alone (not necessarily being with Sakura though, for he would never be able to see that happening)

**(A/N: At least not now anyway ;)**

* * *

"It's... so... hot..." Saki complained, her eyes narrowed, trying to prevent any sand from reaching them.

Shikamaru yawned in the sidelines. Really, this was the fifth time the girl had complained in under ten minutes. Would she give it a rest already?

"Well you better get used to it. There is nothing but sand from here on out." Shizune said. "And it only gets worse once we actually get further in the dessert..." Shizune added.

"Yeah, but that just means we're that much closer to Gaara!" Naruto exclaimed loudly. He hadn't seen Gaara since Sakura's funeral, and even then they hadn't exchanged much of any words beside "We're sorry for your loss".

"Hmm, what do you think Sasuke-kun?" Saki tried asking for his opinion.

Sasuke never replied, but instead increased his speed slightly to get away from Saki. If only they could reach Suna a little sooner... that way he could finally enter his hotel room and lock himself in there (and maybe taking a shower to get the sand off wouldn't be a bad idea). But for the most part, getting away from Saki was his goal.

Shizune sighed, seeing Sasuke speed off up ahead. "Saki, I suggest you not speak to him for a while. He doesn't particularly like the heat, and you're just adding on to his displeasure."

Saki glared. Was she calling her annoying? "Sasuke's just a little grumpy is all. There is nothing wrong with me trying to cheer him up!" she protested, her voice shrill and obnoxious.

Shizune rolled her eyes, and sped up ahead next to Sasuke, to make sure he was fine.

Shikamaru sighed. "Stupid woman... can't she tell Sasuke wants nothing to do with her?" he muttered to himself, staring up at the cloudless sky. The only real good thing about going to Suna was that one, he'd finally get out of Konoha (seeing Sakura everywhere he went had become a little too painful) and two, visiting Temari. It had been a very long time since he had actually had a decent conversation with her... and it was odd too, because he was usually the one who didn't want to talk, but rather stare at the clouds.

"Sasuke?" Shizune asked as she approached him.

"Hm" he made a sound from the back of his throat to let her know he was listening.

"How are you holding up?" she asked. No, it wasn't her asking if he wasn't strong enough to carry on; she knew this boy wouldn't give up on something even if hell froze over if he put his mind to it. The thing was, she had noticed he looked a little paler than usual (he hadn't eaten very much this past week), and he hadn't left the sanctuary of his own home in days... And still, her question was mainly directed to his inner turmoil.

Sasuke glared at the sand. What type of question was that? "How are _you_ holding up?"

Shizune looked down sadly. "I thought as much..." she closed her eyes, in fear a tear would fall. She kept them close until she was sure she'd be okay, and then opened them once more. "Saki doesn't help one bit, does she?"

"You're asking obvious questions again, Shizune." Sasuke was growing impatient. If there wasn't anything important to say to him (such as things like they would be arriving in Suna soon, or maybe they could kill Saki now), then he preferred to be alone in peaceful solitude.

"I'm just trying to do the best I can to help you Sasuke." Shizune glared. "But it's too hard to do that if you can't open up a little." Shizune sighed. Sasuke was like... a brother, almost to her. Sakura had been her sister, so in a way, it could be considered brother-in-law, she guessed. She cared for Sasuke deeply; she knew how he must feel, seeing as Sakura was no longer there...

She was only trying to help him not be alone...

"Nobody asked for your help, Shizune." Sasuke ignorantly faced the other way, opposite Shizune.

Same old stuck up attitude, in Shizune's opinion. Truthfully, she hadn't seen this side of Sasuke is a long, long time... "Sasuke... don't ignore me like that... I'm just trying to see if you're all right... It's what Sakura would want..." the last sentence was but a whisper.

"...I'm fine." Something must have gotten through to Sasuke, even if he was still looking the opposite direction, glaring a the blistering sand.

Shizune sighed, but didn't say anything else. It was useless anyway, so why bother?

* * *

Sakura sighed. It was the tenth she could count the boy had blushed and said she was pretty in the past 10 minutes...

"Sit still please." Sakura said as she began wrapping his arm in a cast. He complied, but only for 30 seconds until he unknowingly began to quiver at the close proximity.

Sakura groaned mentally. This was _hopeless!_

Sakura decided she would make this as quick and painless as possible (for herself anyway; she made sure she tightly bandaged his arm and pressed on his wound harder that needed) and quickly finished up the job. "I'll umm..." Sakura began, standing up. She had been sitting down on his bed (he had insisted they go to his room).

"Come back tomorrow?" his question was more of a hopeful sort of demand.

"Yeah..." Sakura sighed slowly. "It'll take me a while to heal your bones." Sakura replied.

"Great! I mean... ummm, I see..." he quickly interjected, his immediate blush multiplying ten fold.

"Yeah..." Sakura trailed off. Inside, inner was just about ready to pull her hair off from the desperation.

**'If only Itachi were here...' **she whined, tears streaming down her eyes like waterfalls.

_'If only Aya were here...' _Sakura ignored inner's comment. Aya was much better company than Itachi... **way better**. Besides, Itachi could hardly even _be _considered company. The fat cat on the window made better conversation with his loud meows and soft purrs.

"Bye!" Sakura left quickly before the boy (he could hardly be considered a man) decided to walk her home, or ask if they could probably see each other sometime not during their healing sessions on a date.

"I... ugh... yeah... Bye Sakura-san!" he could only stare at her retreating figure, staring at her beauty.

Sakura ran all the way to her house, not stoping in fear that he was actually chasing her. Once inside, she sighed and leaned on the door. Why was he just so... what could she say, sprung on her?

Oh, if only there were more girls her age here in this small village. Surely the reason was because they weren't that many girls. Becausre surely, if there were more girls here in this village, he would have more experience with them and he would know what to do. He would at least make the signs he was interested more subtle and less noticeable, instead of having them hit Sakura like a brick in the face. Or maybe he'd be able to hide the fact that he liked her, and would just see this as a little crush, and eventually get over Sakura.

But then again...

Maybe if there were more girls in the village, he would have become a sort of player (because he was certainly not _ugly. _Aya was very pretty, and he was her twin). Most of the boys were pretty basic, and he could even be considered just a little above average. So initially, maybe he would have been flirting with Sakura full on, giving her noticeable hints and what not, and wanting her to make her move. He might even go as far _touching her._

Oh, that would be bad.

_Very, **very **_bad.

Sakura would have to hit him.

Quickly deciding to change the subject in her brain (inner was already thinking of ways to kill him, and Sakura didn't want to be known as an evil medic already), Sakura went to her room, got some clothes and a towel, and headed to the bathhouse.

* * *

Sakura glared viciously.

"Hey Sakura." Aya grinned nervously.

"I thought you had to do some errands." Sakura seethed through her teeth.

Aya laughed nervously. "A-About that..." she stuttered out. She didn't know what Sakura was actually capable of, but she was well aware that Sakura was most likely not a very pretty thing when upset and angered. "Well you see..." she hesitated slightly.

"I see what?" Sakura stared at Aya expectantly.

"Well... my annoying, pesky little brother sort of... _bribed me._" she looked to the side slyly. "_Besides..." _she began, "I wanted to visit Ahiro-koi." she pouted endearingly.

"..." Sakura stared at Aya with a dumb-founded expression. "You ditched... for a boy..." Sakura said slowly.

"And money!" Aya added excitedly.

"..."

"You'd be amazed how much he was willing to pay to leave you two alone in the house for a few hours." Aya dismissed her silence and enraged look.

Sakura sighed and sunk back into the heat of the water. "I hate you." she muttered and submerged her face in the water, blowing bubbles out of her nose as she exhaled.

Aya laughed silently. Sakura was just so funny!

"So what are you doing now? I don't suppose you were lying about that day-care job." Sakura muttered, once she had lifted her head up off the water.

"No, I kept the lying to a minimum." Aya giggled. "It starts in around 30 minutes."

"Sure it does." Sakura said sarcastically, glaring at Aya, who merely laughed once again in return.

"And what are your plans?" Aya dismissed the glare.

Sakura shrugged slightly. "Kisame and Itachi should be coming back in an hour or so..." she trailed off.

"So you want me to stay with you... when you could instead be all alone with Itachi...?" Aya questioned, her eye brows furrowed in confusion. "Oh wait, I get it now!" she exclaimed loudly (making a few of the other woman in the bathhouse stare at them oddly), before Sakura could explain what she meant. "You want me to get rid of the blue guy, Kisame, right?" she squealed in delight. "So you _are _interested in him!" saying she was delighted was an understatement.

Sakura glared and splashed water on Aya.

"Geez, I'm teasing Sakura, calm down." she laughed. "I know, I know," she sighed. "There is nothing going on between you two." she rolled her eyes, mimicking Sakura's voice, even though there was slight sarcasm lacing her words.

"I do not sound like that." Sakura glared.

"Whatever" Aya scoffed. "If you ask me, this Itachi boy, excuse me, _man,_ is much too hot to _not _have anything going on between you too." Yeah, Aya had made the mistake of calling Itachi a boy. Truth be told, most of any male here she considered a boy; they weren't tough enough, like her brother. But Itachi... oh dear, he was an **entirely **different story. Now that right there was a _real _man. Someone like him could most certainly not be compared to his wimpy little brother... In fact, just the other day he got into a fight with the lazy fat cat at the corner of the block... _and the cat won._

Sakura stared at Aya indiginantly. "Why don't _you _go for him then, if he's that hot in your opinion?"

"In my opinion?" Aya questioned, repeating Sakura's words. "Excuse me Sakura, but that there is a **fact.**" she corrected Sakura. "And to answer your question, it's because I already have Ahiro-kun." the thought of him made her smile cutely. Sakura sighed. Why was it any time she got in a conversation about Itachi, everyone said they were a cute couple, or something of the sort? It just wasn't fair.

"But don't worry Sakura," Aya began moments later, standing up and heading towards a door that led to the changing rooms, "I'm not insinuating anything. I respect your decision." She turned around, winked at Sakura, and began heading out. "I'll see you later." she shouted back as she disappeared through the door.

Sakura sighed. What was she going to do with that girl? Actually, what exactly was she going to do with _these _girls?(Sera, Suki, Aya, and Suzumi)

_'What's better, dealing with them, or handling Kairi?'_

Sakura didn't have to wait for an answer; the question was just **that **obvious.

Sakura stayed there for about fifteen more minutes, before she left, deciding she didn't want to be all pruny.

* * *

"Good evening Sera." Sakura smiled, as she entered Sera's house.

"Ooh, I was just expecting you Sakura." Sakura spotted Sera in the kitchen.

"I see you're wasting no time cooking the dango." Sakura laughed.

"Oh, of course not!" Sera protested. "We don't know how long they'll be staying here, so we must do our best to make them comfortable as best we could." Sea answered.

"Right..." Sakura rolled her eyes. She could swear Sera wouldn't be doing all that if she knew they were some of the most wanted murderers around the shinobi nations... Or maybe, knowing Sera, it'd fuel her even more, considering they saved Sakura, and they were currently _not _destroying the village. Oh, one could only guess what was going on in Sera's mind...

Still, Sakura remember Sera had the very same reaction when taking care of Sakura. So kind, and anxious to help her and do anything she could to make Sakura as comfortable as possible. But then again... Sakura was on the brink of death, and very very vulnerable at the time...

"Would you help me here for a little while?" Sera had snapped her out of her thoughts, and Sakura quickly complied, rushing to her side in the kitchen. "It's nearly time to pick up the girls..." Sera trailed off, insinuating in a way, and asking if Sakura could possible pick them up.

"Don't worry about it, I'll go." she assured.

"Thanks a bundle." Sera smiled.

Thirty minutes later, Sakura left the house, leaving Sera to do the finishing touches. Sakura arrived in the small schoolyard just as the small bell rang, releasing the children. Five minutes later, Suzuki and Suki came running down the snowy road, laughign and giggling like they usually did.

"Sakura-kaasan!" they ran and hugged her, looking up at her from their position near her upper thigh (they really were quite short compared to Sakura... (not really, they'd probably be as tall as her by the time they hit fifteen)

"Let's go home and prepare for dinner, shall we?" Sakura suggested.

The girls nodded eagerly, grabbed Sakura's hands, and began running towards their house.

Just as they were turning the corner to the house, Sakura felt Kisame's chakra spark from deep inside the forest. Sakura was more startled than worried, if anything. Still... maybe he had gotten injured or something...?

"Hey girls, go on ahead and go home. Help Sera finish up and wash yourselves..." Sakura slowly released Suki's and Suzuki's hands.

"Your not coming with us?" Suki questioned.

"I'm... going to fetch Kisame and Itachi..." she said slowly. "They'll miss dinner if I don't get them." finding the story made sense, she quickly added on to it.

"Oh..." Suzuki nodded slowly, before they ran on ahead towards the house.

Once making sure they were a good distance away, Sakura speedily jumping on a random roof top and began heading to the place she had felt Kisame's chakra.

* * *

"You think she'll sense it?" Kisame wondered.

Itachi glared. She better sense it, that was all he knew.

"Calm down, at most we'll be here for a few hours, before Sakura figures out something is wrong." Kisame grinned.

Itachi sighed. "We don't have a few hours." he plainly stated.

"This is all your fault anyway." Kisame replied to Itachi's sigh, taking it as a "this is all your fault we're in this mess".

"Is not." Itachi simply stated, looking the other way with his Sharingan ablaze.

"Think about it," Kisame paused slightly, "You were the one who felt the need to chuck the kunai at my head. Obviously, since I don't want to die, I'd duck. It's not my fault you activated the booby trap." Kisame tried to shrug, but could not from his position on the ceiling.

"If you had shut up, I wouldn't have tried to incapacitate you." Itachi simply stated with a bored stare.

"Whatever" Kisame scoffed.

Once Itachi had missed Kisame and hit a trap door, a giant round rock fell from right under them, making them jump away speedily. As soon as they were about to land, the floor under them opened into trap doors that surely led to certain death. Kisame had managed to embed his Samehada into the foor, and had saved himself by hanging onto the wrap around it, while Itachi had concentrated chakra on his feet and pushed himself off the wall, onto another platform, his Sharingan spinning chaotically, searching for another trap. The round, giant rock was rolling towards them now, and Kisame quickly picked himself up, made a a few quick hand signs, and sharp water daggers errupted from his hands and went flying towards the rock.

Itachi had been unable to stop him. The rock shattered faster than he could take cover, and a green like substance enclosed them both and sent them flying back, where Kisame landed on the roof, his Samehada under him, and Itachi on the fall next to him. The only things not covered by the gloop had been their hands, feet, and head.

Minutes later, they had found outthe green blob was not just a super sticky substance, but it was also eating away at their clothes, like some acidic substance.

"Soon enough it'll run out of clothes to eat." Itachi's eyes narrowed.

"And it'll turn to our flesh, won't it?" Kisame was almost afraid to let that question be answered.

"Sakura best arrive soon." Itachi simply asnwered.

* * *

Sakura blinked a few times. Okay, this is aroudn the area where she had sensed the chakra, but there was nothing here... just... forest...

Oh, and snow!

She had to hurry... maybe they were in some form of trouble? Maybe that was why Kisame's chakra had suddenly sparked the way it did...

Sakura quickly closed her eyes and released all her chakra, letting it roam around the area. Soon enough, she found a crevice behidn a rock, totally hidden by the snow and trees around it. The crevice seemed to lead on for quite some time; Sakura figured it was a secret tunnel of some sort.

_'So... there must be an underground tunnel...' _Sakura averaged out, slowly doing her math. Her fist tightened as she pulled on her glove tightly and quickly smashed the area below her feet. The earth ruptured below her and a big smoke cloud filled the air as Sakura stealthily dropped to the underground tunnel.

Now that she was not thick layers above Kisame, she coudl clearly sense him, at least 3 minutes away.

**'Becareful, there might be booby traps.' **inner reminded cautiously.

Okay... 5 minutes away...

The thrill was exhilirating, Sakura thought. She hadn't been in any dangerous situation in a very long time... She sort of missed it...

Her skills were rusty, so she had set off a few booby traps, but none she couldn't handle with ease.

Five minutes later she found herself face to face with Kisame and Itachi like how she had averaged out in her head...

Err... face to...

"Ahh!" Sakura closed her eyes, blushing slightly and looking at the opposite direction.

Kisame and Itachi had no shirts.

And their pants were slowly singing off bit by bit...

"Nice to see you too." Kisame said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

**End of Chapter**

**Umm... I'm alive? :D**

**So... where to begin... started high school, been extremely busy... xP Sorry for keeping you all waiting for sooooooo long.**

**There may be many mistakes in this chap, didn't want to keep you all waiting any longer...**

**Next story I will be updating will be _Sakura's Heavenly Mistake _and then, most likely, _Somewhere We Belong_**

**Again, sorry for the long wait, and thanks for the reviews for the previous chap!**

**I'M STILL ALIVE xD**

**Any and all feedback is much appreciated ;)**

**-Marzy-chan~~! :))**


	14. Base

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters**

**Chapter 14: Base**

"Why are you guys half naked?" Sakura panicked, averting her eye-sight from the men in front of her.

"If you don't get us out quick there'll be more of us at your disposal…" Kisame's statement made Sakura stare back at them, though she still couldn't help the blush that spread across her cheeks.

(Hey, what could she say, she was still innocent on the inside… and not to mention outside)

"Err… right…" Sakura approached Itachi, for he was the easiest one to access from the too, considering Kisame was still on the roof, and examined the green substance.

She quickly made a shadow clone, and made it scoop up the green blob. As soon as the clone approached it, some of the blob latched onto it, and began enveloping the clone. The blob instead only held onto the clone for a few seconds before the clone vanished, along with the blob.

Sakura received data from the clone shortly afterwards. "It's meant to eat and not stop eating… it's attracted to chakra."

Okay, this might have just become a bit more difficult. If Sakura approached the blob, it would latch onto her as well, and she'd be put in the same predicament as them.

And frankly, there was no way in _hell _she'd let the damn blob eat her clothing and reveal her flesh.

She was now contemplating whether or not she should just apologize and walk away… But no, obviously Sakura was much too nice for that.

Sakura didn't have that much time to think, so she instead made four extra clones. She got two a safe distance away from Itachi, and two right underneath Kisame. They each created chakra strings, which then connected to the green ooze.

'_Come on, please work.' _Sakura begged.

Slowly, some of the green ooze began following the chakra, eating at it as it went, and then latched on to the clone, which Sakura had supplied with extra chakra.

Finding that the clones were easier to take chakra from, the ooze began leaving Itachi's and Kisame's respective forms (thankfully), and began using the chakra strings as pathways to then envelope the clones.

Ones the final blob of green finished crossing the chakra strings and Kisame and Itachi managed to free themselves and get a safe distance away, Sakura cut off the connection to the clones and they disappeared, which then caused the ooze to fall to the floor. It slowly began to wiggle itself towards Sakura, which was the closest chakra container to it.

"Oh, don't even think about it." Sakura glared disgustedly at it and jumped away from it in disgust, landing next to Kisame and Itachi on the other side of the floor trap.

After a sigh of relief, seeing as the ooze could no longer reach them, she sighed and then stared back at them…

…and then quickly looked away once more.

Most of their pants had been eaten up too…

Sakura quickly disposed of her cloak and quickly threw it towards them. She didn't care who grabbed it, but it would help if at least one of them was clothed.

Apparently, it had been Kisame who caught the cloak.

Sakura didn't dare look back as they began walking the way Sakura had come. Sakura had assured them she had disabled or disintegrated every trap there was the way she had come, so there was no possible way Kisame could be a "doofus", as she had put it, and set up another trap that would inevitably eat off their clothing.

"How about I return home and find you all some clothes?" Sakura suggested, not even daring to look back. "I'm not surviving out there without a cloak." Sakura quickly added, as Kisame suggested that would be a great idea.

Since Sakura did not dare face them, she didn't see as the cloak was once again tossed back to her, this time landing on her face. "Thanks for that." She said sarcastically, grabbing the cloak and bringing it off her head.

Kisame chuckled in response.

"I better hurry, Sera is expecting us for dinner soon."

"Right" Kisame nodded.

"Sorry we're a little late." Sakura came bursting through the door of Sera's house, shrugging off the cloak and shoes as she went, Kisame and Itachi following shortly afterwards.

"It's quite alright. We were only waiting for ten minutes." Suzuki smiled endearingly.

"What was the hold up?" Suki asked curiously.

"Umm... they got caught up in a little... _sticky situation_." Sakura could have laughed, "so I had to bail them out."

"Ahh well, I'm sure you're all exhausted, please take a seat." Sera offered, running to them and helping Kisame and Itachi take off their heavy clothing and putting it aside on the clothes rack.

Once seated, there was a small, weird silence.

"I heard how much you liked dango, so I was trying it out." Sera began, serving everyone some food.

Itachi nodded a thanks to Sera. "You shouldn't have." Kisame was kind enough to reply, albeit, somewhat bashfully as if being treated like royalty.

"Oh please, it's my pleasure!" Sera smiled light-heartedly.

They all began eating, and even Itachi had to admit it. _This was delightful. _"Exquisite taste, Sera-san." He nodded approvingly at her.

This... almost reminded him of his mother's cooking, Itachi noticed as a side-note.

"Thanks Itachi-san." Sera blushed from the compliment, giggling slightly.

"Yes, truly delectable." Kisame agreed.

"You're smothering me." Sera waved a hand to dismiss the comments quickly. "Of course, in a good way." She added quickly.

Sakura laughed slightly.

In all honesty, she wanted this dinner to be over as quick as possible. Firstly, she didn't want Sera hinting that she and Itachi should get together (because they really should not), or perhaps asking how the treatment for Aya's twin was going –and she definitely did not want to go _there_, of all topics. And in all honesty, she just wanted to go home and interrogate Kisame and Itachi.

'_How had they even gotten in such a mess?'_

They had clearly been searching for something, that much was true. But as to what and why…. Well, Sakura could never be so certain.

Dinner had been eaten relatively fast, and once done, Sera suggested they stay there, but Sakura insisted they (her included) had some business to attend to, and they had to leave.

"What business could you honestly have in this rusty old town?" Sera couldn't help but question.

Sakura laughed nervously. "Oh, you know, usual ninja stuff Sera."

And with that, Sakura ushered Kisame and Itachi out the door, and they quickly went inside Sakura's own, two houses down.

"It's really convenient being next to Sera." Kisame said aimlessly, pulling off his cloak and making his way to the living room.

"You're probably only saying that because you get sudden midnight cravings." Sakura rolled her eyes. Kisame merely grinned sheepishly in return. "So, what exactly were you two doing down there?" Sakura questioned as she began setting up the fire. Once again, she had asked Itachi to do so, and he quickly complied. No, it wasn't that Sakura sucked _that much_, but she was horrible at controlling such a small amount, and she really did not feel like burning down her house any time soon.

Kisame glanced at Itachi. "You think Leader-sama would mind?" he questioned.

Itachi didn't reply, mainly because he wasn't so sure himself. They usually weren't allowed to share mission information and such, but this was Sakura, a… co-member, you could say… Plus, with no real village she belonged in (because she was certainly not known as a Sound-nin), she was of no real viable threat.

"Oh well" Kisame shrugged slightly. "It's what he gets for sending us anyway." He grinned. "We were supposed to retrieve a scroll Orochimaru had stolen from Akatsuki after he defected three years ago." Kisame explained.

"Oh, so you were looking for his base." Sakura nodded accordingly, now understanding.

"Yeah, but the damn prick made so many tunnels and fake bases, it's hard to tell which one is real. Not to mention they're all booby trapped like hell. We already went through six!" Kisame shivered at the thought of the green slime once more.

_Never again…!_

"Well umm…" Sakura was hesitant to speak. "I sort of…" Two pairs of eyes turned to her, and she sunk back in her seat at the intensity of one of them (obviously being Itachi's Sharingan). Growing a back bone after inner's roar, she sat up straight and cleared her throat. "Umm, Suzuki and Suki got sick about a week ago, you see…" Sakura began. "So I went to go get the required herb to heal them, and while I was doing so I came across…" she hesitated, struggling for the right words. "What seemed to be a legit base." She finished. "There were blade marks across the scenery, obviously showing there had been a fight, and there was a skeleton of a man with a Sound forehead protector so…"

"You think that was the base?" Kisame asked.

"Well, it might be… if it weren't important, the Sound-nin wouldn't have been protecting it from intruders so…" she trailed off.

Kisame turned to look at Itachi, who merely nodded in response. Kisame turned back to Sakura once again. "You think you can lead us there tomorrow? You see, that's the only lead we have so far on what could possibly be his base." Kisame explained.

"Yeah, certainly" Sakura nodded in approval, but then flinched seconds later. "I uhh… have that healing session with Aya's little bro…" she cringed her nose. "But after that, I'll be more than happy to help you two." She perked up seconds later.

"Perfect! We'll wait for you h-"

Sakura cut him off. "Nu-uh" she shook her head, smirking deviously, it almost reminded Itachi of Kisame, and vice versa as well. "If you two want my help, you'll have to accompany me. And you have to do a good job too, not any of crap I'm sure you usually pull Kisame."

"What, why?" Kisame scowled, whining like an immature child, almost offended Sakura would think such a thing from him (even though it was true…).

"_Because" _Sakura emphasized, "I can't stand being alone with him. The kid is _creepy _Kisame." Sakura complained. Kisame gave her a quizzical look as if saying he couldn't be all that bad. "He drooled" Sakura gave Kisame an expectant look.

Kisame laughed. "At least he didn't ask you o-"

"I ran before he had time" Sakura cut him off. "Come on, all I want you two to do is be there, act like you care a lot for me, and don't let him anywhere near me."

"You're kinda gonna _need_ to be near him _to _heal him, Sakura." Kisame gave her a look.

"Fine, then at least don't let him talk to me." Sakura shook her head in dismay. "That's the least you two can do if I'm giving you the whereabouts of your oh-so precious scroll." She said haughtily.

"Yeah Yeah" Kisame rolled his eyes. "It won't take too long, will it?" Kisame asked.

Sakura shook her head. "I'll need to save my chakra for you two, just in case, so the session will be short and fast." Sakura concluded. Kisame contemplated this, and concluded "how bad could it be?," but that was before Sakura finished her sentence. "About an hour and a half."

"What?" he exclaimed loudly, but quickly shut up after seeing Itachi's face expression. "I see…" Kisame didn't say much of anything else after that.

"So…" Sakura broke the almost silence. "What does Akatsuki do for the holidays?" Sakura gave an almost awkward grin, for asking such a weird question. Still, there was nothing else they could really talk about, and it was the first thing that had popped into her head so…

"Not much" Kisame leaned back on the couch. "If we're up to it, we do a Secret Santa, but that's only because Tobi demands upon it and Leader-sama said some crap about bringing the organization together as a team, or something like that." Kisame shrugged.

"And I'm going to guess it usually doesn't end up too well?" Sakura raised an eyebrow, amused by the thought.

"Well, no one really knows anything about each other, so we usually base our presents based on pranks or things that can be directly noted about the person. Hidan for example usually ends up getting severed head." Sakura could have laughed at the thought, had she not thought how unfortunate said person must be to get killed for Christmas, of all days. "I somehow get some kind of exotic fish, Tobi gets a magic kit or a toy oven or some bologna like that, and Konan, depending on who got it, gets some girly stuff." Kisame didn't feel like listing the possibilities, for that would take a long time.

"I remember last year I got stuck with Zetsu, and I gave him a cactus." He shrugged.

Sakura laughed. It seemed… fitted, sort of…

"Yeah, and Itachi got Deidara some play-doh, if I do remember correctly." He looked towards Itachi, who was now sitting alongside him, as he nodded.

"Oh, and I'm going to guess you did that to make fun of him." Sakura smiled.

Itachi smirked, confirming her thoughts. "He did undeniably enjoy the gift, though."

Sakura laughed. "Figures" she rolled her eyes shortly afterwards. "But hey, if you're having another Secret Santa this year, would you mind if I joined in?" she added fairly quickly.

Kisame shrugged. "Of course we won't mind."

"Great, I can't wait." She grinned. There were a few seconds of silence before Sakura spoke up once more. "So umm… no Christmas dinner for you guys?"

Kisame shook his head. "Even if we tried, everybody would be at everybody's throats in at least ten minutes. Or maybe to be more specific, Konan and Kakuzu on Hidan's, Sasori on Deidara's, and everybody on Tobi's."

"Poor Tobi." Sakura frowned slightly, muttering to herself before Kisame continued.

"So we usually just get our food and go into our own rooms, with the exception of Konan and Pein, and Sasori, Itachi and I who usually eat together.

"Oh…" She guessed they were the only ones who were capable of not ripping each other to shreds on Christmas dinners and such.

"Deidara would join too, if it weren't for the fact that he doesn't particularly like Itachi. That's why Sasori dines with us –to get away from Deidara, because where he is, Tobi is bound to be nearby, and either way, they both annoy the hell out of him." Kisame explained.

It seemed logical. From what she knew, Deidara was bitter Itachi had beaten him into the Akatsuki, and thus held some form of grudge against him. That is, it would be like that until Deidara finally proved himself and defeated Itachi, which Sakura doubted would happen any time soon… (or ever, but whatever).

"Wow… for being an organization, you're all so… _separated._" Sakura frowned.

"Well, that's kind of what happens when you put S-Class criminals, some who aren't even sane, mind you, in the same room, some forced there against their own will. Not to mention since we are all mostly from different hidden villages, grudges are held between some members." Kisame explained.

"But if you defected from your village doesn't that mean you sort of don't _care_ _for it_? Or at least not enough to stay there and serve under its name, at least" Sakura asked.

"Hey, a home will always be a home." Kisame gave her a wink. "It just may be that we didn't exactly see eye to eye with some of the ideologies and rules from that particular village, or they just didn't suit and or benefit us, so we left. But even after all of that, there will always be some form of pride within you because you carry, in your blood and for the rest of your life for that matter, that particular village. Why do you think to this day we all still have our headbands, even if slashed?"

Sakura gave this some thought. Kisame really did make a _very _convincing argument. Sakura then gave Kisame a deranged look. He looked at her in question, raising an eyebrow. "When did you get so _smart_?" she eyed him oddly.

Kisame laughed. "Blame Itachi"

Sakura merely smiled in response. "Oh" she perked up seconds later. "I just remembered," She seemed almost pleased with what she was just about to say. "We won't have to bunk anymore."

"Huh?" Kisame questioned.

"I asked Sera if it was okay with her, and she said it was fine for me to stay with her until you both complete your mission, that way I won't… harass Itachi in my sleep." She blushed slightly. "I'm truly sorry about that." She cast him a shy glance.

"Ahh" Sakura didn't really believe that his monosyllable answer had been anywhere remotely close to a "it's quite alright Sakura", but at least he replied, right?

'_The fun's all done?' _Kisame couldn't help but frown bitterly.

"So umm, the hardest part now is figuring out who gets the bed tonight between you two." She smiled, not noticing Kisame's frown.

"Oh, I don't even think that'll be too hard." Kisame sighed bitterly.

"Well then…" Sakura remembered Kisame saying something about Itachi always getting the bed or something like that, so she didn't question any further. "You two should get up around six, if you plan to take showers or go to the bathhouse, and afterwards, you can meet me up in Sera's place, if I'm not here already." Sakura continued.

"Alrighty then." Kisame nodded.

Between the two of them, and Itachi every now and then, they began conversing for an hour or so, until Sakura decided it was time for her to leave, grabbing some pajamas and then bidding them goodbye. The night shortly ended a sometime after Sakura left, Kisame and Itachi discussing a few things between the two about the mission (even though Kisame tried bringing up Sakura a few times between the conversations), and Itachi communicating with Pein, telling them of their current whereabouts, and the surprising meeting with the kunoichi they had met weeks before.

Luckily for both Itachi and Sakura, breakfast had been exceedingly normal, with no mention of relationships whatsoever. So once dropping off Suki and Suzuki off at school in a rather peaceful manner, they walked to Aya's house.

"H-Hi Sakura-san" Sakura hadn't even gotten to _knock_ on the door.

"Hi Kairi." She hid the distaste.

"C-Come in, please."

Sakura stepped inside. "Is Aya here?"

He shook his head. "She's at her day care job." She doubted she really was (Aya _did _say he had bribed her), but whatever. This time, she had _back-up._

"Umm, I'd like you to meet Kisame and Itachi, Kairi."

Yes, he had noticed the big blue man behind her, but he didn't think much of him at first, thinking maybe he was a random person, but now that he had entered his house, he was all too aware of the _giant_ shark like man looking down at him, grinning, sharp teeth showing.

"Yo, I'm Kisame" Kisame appeared next to Sakura, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and leaning on her, making it seem like she would collapse from the pressure of his weight on her. Luckily though, she didn't.

"H-Hi" No, Kairi was not blushing because he was staring at Sakura. He was just slightly (or very) intimidated by the shark man.

"And that right there is Itachi." Itachi approached him and stopped once on the other side of Sakura and leaned on the kitchen counter, staring at Kairi so sternly, it almost felt like he could see through his soul. He merely nodded his way, as if regarding his presence (though he could hardly care less, in all reality.)

"They're close friends of mine, and they decided to tag along and accompany me while I run some errands, I hope you don't mind." Sakura smiled at him, though on the inside she was cackling in laughter maniacally.

"N-No, not at all." His blush came back full force as he saw her smile.

"Yeah, Sakura's like a little sister to me." Kisame spoke, ruffling Sakura's hair as she looked up and pouted at him, and no, the pout wasn't fake either. She said to make it seem real, but not to _mess up her hair _while he was at it. "We're _very_ protecting of her, aren't we Itachi?" He turned to look at Itachi.

Itachi didn't reply, instead, settled for staring at Kairi some more.

"Well, enough introductions, let's heal your arm Kairi." Sakura ushered everyone into Kairi's room.

Kairi didn't speak much this time around, not only because the close proximity with Sakura was getting to him, but because the two other occupants in the room never let him out of their sight, eyeing him like a predator would watch his pray.

Man, and he had been planning to _make his_ _move too_.

No, Kairi shook his thoughts away.

He_ would _make his move today. He just needed to find an opening, so as to be able to talk to her without getting interrupted, or having her being dragged away (it had already happened twice in the past fifteen minutes).

He finally had the chance he had been looking for when the session finally reached its end.

"Are we nearly done?" Kisame complained.

"Yeah, I just need to wrap his arm." Sakura rolled her eyes at his silly childish antics. Once wrapping his arm, Sakura gathered her med-kit, they exited the house.

"Finally, freedom!" Kisame began walking away slowly, hands behind his neck lazily.

Sakura walked away too, but then turned back seconds afterwards and faced Kairi. "Oh, I almost forgot Kairi." She began rummaging through her med-kit, and then pulled out a small ointment. "Apply this every three hours to relieve the pain and to help it heal faster." She handed him the ointment quickly, planning to turn around and run back to Kisame and Itachi.

"Umm… Sakura?"

"Yeah?" Sakura flinched, looking down slowly, suddenly finding her feet extremely interesting.

'_Just let him finish his rant about how pretty I am and then say thanks, and walk away.' _Sakura quickly thought in her mind. Yet, things did not go as she planned when she felt him grip her hand, which had been laying by her side just seconds before. She prevented from flinching. _'Please don't m1ake me do anything I'll regret later Kairi.' _Sakura frowned, as she was forced to look up at him. _'GAHH!'_

His face was approaching her own slowly, his lips puckered up, eyes closed.

Sakura cringed.

'**Don't do it Kairi! No! She'll have your head after this!' **In all honesty, it would probably be inner to have his head, for she was the one who cared the most (she didn't dare share her lips with anyone who wasn't extremely hot, just because she was the other persona that she was).

His lips must have been inches from her own when she felt her head being pulled backwards. She let her body follow, away from Kairi.

She fell against a firm chest, an elbow on her shoulder, and a hand on top of her head, while the other arm was left free, doing absolutely nothing.

The thing she did not expect though, was for the flesh of said person to not be blue.

Actually, maybe she _did _expect it. Kisame had pulled the crap she strictly had said not to pull, and left her before she actually left the perimeter near Kairi.

"Itachi" she forced her tone to be curious and surprised rather than grateful and relieved like how she was actually feeling on the inside.

Kairi gulped in fear as Itachi stared him down (not really, in all truth, he was gazing) with blood red, spinning eyes than seemed to bring terror into his very being.

"Hn"

Sakura kept staring up at him curiously, of course, faking, as Itachi and Kairi kept staring at each other.

Kairi had his fists clenched in anger as the fear slowly dissipated and turned to anger.

_He missed his chance_

_And all because of him_

He frowned and stared in displeasure, and Itachi merely stared back at him with an expression he couldn't very well read.

"Kisame's waiting" he merely said.

"Oh, yeah, you're right." Sakura nodded understandingly, and then looked at Kairi once more. "Remember, every four hours."

And with that, Itachi and Sakura turned around, Itachi still having his arm on her, and they walked away. It wasn't until Itachi heard the door close shut and when he was sure Kairi wasn't looking anymore that he withdrew his hand from her, and she sighed in relief.

"Thank you so much Itachi." Sakura sighed, blushing slightly. The contact (since she hadn't really ever touched Itachi before, if you exclude the previous night) had made the blood rush to her face because how alien-like his skin and touch felt to her.

"Don't misunderstand. It's to finish the mission." Itachi said solemnly, looking straight.

"Oh, I know." Sakura smiled. "But that doesn't mean I'm not grateful. After all, Kisame left me." She scowled slightly at the mention of Kisame's name. "And if it weren't for you, I would have had to… _eww._" Sakura couldn't even finish her sentence as a mental image popped into her head, and she was shivered unconsciously.

Itachi smirked and parted his lips to mention a quick "Ahh", but then decided against it, and sealed his lips once more. Itachi never had anyone thank him (besides Kisame when he saved his life, that is), so he didn't exactly know what to say in a situation like this.

They arrived back at Sakura's home in a few short minutes, where Kisame was lounging around. "Man, what took you guys so long?" he complained.

"I almost got _kissed_." Sakura glared.

Kisame raised his eyebrows in astonishment. "Wow Itachi, I never took you for a bold one." He explained, astonishment still laced in his voice.

Itachi merely raised an eyebrow at him and gave him a strange look. No, he wasn't going to glare this time. Frankly, he was tired of looking like a fool affected by every word Kisame spoke, and was much too used to Kisame's attitude. Besides… he knew Kisame was only joking.

"Haha, very funny." Sakura rolled her eyes and playfully –though none too gently, smacked Kisame behind the head as she walked by. "I'll go get your Samehada and your weapons right now." Sakura said, going to her room, and returning a while later with all their weapons. She handed it to them, and then strapped her own weapons on herself, and then pulling on the reversed Akatsuki cloak on top of that.

"The blizzards will start in four hours, so we should hurry." Sakura said, pulling on her boots, and tightening the gloves on her hand.

Once they were all done, they nodded once at each other, and then disappeared, only to reappear outside the forest, where Sakura had first met up with them. They didn't waste a second as Sakura began running towards the area she remembered the herb to be at.

If Kisame estimated correctly, they had been running for about 30 minutes now…

Sakura suddenly stopped at a small clearing and looked around the area, which made both Itachi and Kisame attentive once more.

Kisame and Itachi stopped in question, watching as Sakura walked aimlessly around the snow covered clearing, looking at tree roots and brushing some snow to see the dead grass.

"Are we lost kitten?" Kisame sighed as he planted his Samehada on the ground and leaned on it.

Once kneeling under another tree, with its roots above the ground and pulling something out, she sighed and turned around. "No, we're here." It was a plant, Kisame noticed, with mild interest.

"Why is that important?" Kisame asked curiously, shivering slightly from the cold of the falling snow.

"Step back a bit." Sakura warned as she put her hands above her knees for support as she heaved herself up. Itachi and Kisame did as they were told, jumping out of the clearing and next to a lumpy bulb, which they guessed was a boulder. Sakura sighed once, before making a few hand signs and making a fire dragon that swept around the area.

The snow melted almost instantly, and dead grass and dirty appeared.

"Gah!" Kisame yelped loudly and backed away.

"Sorry, did I get you?" Sakura frowned as she turned to look at him with worry.

"No, no," Kisame shook his head, "not that." He then directed his attention to the boulder, where they could clearly see a skeleton. "_That"_ He pointed. No, he wasn't a sissy afraid of a few Sound remains or anything like that, but he had practically been _leaning _against it.

Sakura chuckled. "Good ol' Sound hospitality, no?"

It was amazing to think that Sound had done such a thing. Well, in all reality, Sakura could have believed that two months ago, but not now… These people were kind and caring, not anything like the Sound she had heard of.

She'd have to ask Sera about this.

"Yeah, whatever." Kisame rolled his eyes slightly as he and Itachi approached Sakura, who was feeling around the boulders. "Now what?" he questioned.

"There was one specific boulder," she paused slowly, running to another boulder, noticing the wind pick up slowly, "that had a seal on it." She finished, shivering slightly. The blizzard was about to start whipping out. "Here we go." Sakura pointed to it.

"But we can't open it without the right hand sign." Kisame said, feeling at the seal by sending his own chakra to it.

Sakura chuckled slowly. "Who said anything about opening it?" she gave him a devious look.

"Wha-" Kisame began questioning, but the truth dawned on him shortly afterwards, "Nice" he chuckled as he and Itachi stepped back.

"Hmm, not that big, so…" With very little effort, Sakura crumbled the boulder into smithereens and stepped back to admire her handy work.

"Nice job kitten." Kisame grinned as he stepped up to her and patted her shoulder, grinning. Seconds later, he began stepping over the rubble and disappeared into the tunnel. Itachi approached her seconds later, nodded at her, and then both of them went it seconds later.

"Are you sure this is it? Seems kind of… I don't know… safe?" Kisame said once he saw Itachi and Sakura enter a few yards away from where he was now standing.

"Why would you say that?" Sakura looked around.

"Well, to be honest, it's because I haven't set off any traps yet." Kisame scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

Sakura snorted. "Well, I think the fact that there are no traps just makes it more of a chance that it really is his base." Sakura said, placing her hand on the walls and sending chakra to it, sensing for booby traps. Handy trick she learned from Neji. "Yeah, it's clear." Sakura confirmed.

"Why would it be more likely?" Kisame asked.

"Well think about it. Orochimaru probably had grunts working for him. He couldn't risk them dying and setting off traps, and things like that. At most what he'll have here are several long hallways making it seem like a maze underground, so as to confuse intruders until someone located them and then disposed of them." Sakura said.

"Oh" Kisame nodded. "So where do we go from here?"

"Well, by the looks of it, the corridor to the right ends shortly after this." Sakura again looked with her chakra. "Unfortunately, chakra doesn't compare to the Byakugan, so I can only see so far…" Sakura concluded, letting her hands slip from the wall and fall to her side.

"Then we go left and figure it out as we go." Kisame concluded, walking away, with Sakura and Itachi seconds later.

Sakura and Itachi followed Kisame with no hesitation, following just a few steps behind him.

Their silent walk was ended a few minutes after, when the hallway divided into two. "Umm…" Sakura looked at them in question.

"I say I go alone and you stick with Itachi." Kisame looked at both of them. No, he wasn't trying to set them up right now. If there were any traps ahead of them, because even if it was his real base there was a possibility, Kisame would obviously have to dispose of it, and to be completely honest, his methods were rather… _brutal._ Now considering the hallway was narrow, it meant his attacks with his Samehada would most likely hit someone were they ever in the way, which he highly thought they would be. Not to mention Sakura, no matter how strong she actually was, wasn't exactly quite at their level (though relatively close and not far behind by much), so she would need help eventually if she ever came across something dangerous.

He was just looking out for her

And if Sakura knew that, she would smile her brightest smile

But for now, as she saw it, he was still picking on them (because even she had noticed he had been trying to set them up somehow, but as to why, she would never know, even though she guessed it had something to do with humiliating Itachi), so she was just angered.

Itachi, seeing his logic, even though he hated to admit it, nodded slowly.

"Alright, I'll take the right." With one last nod of goodbye, he began walking off.

"You be careful!" Sakura warned. "And before I forget, you should implant your chakra into the wall every now and then so you can find your way back, or we can easily track you down may we ever need to." Sakura said.

"Cool, where'd you learn that?" Kisame turned around momentarily, placing his hand on the wall and doing just that.

"It's a neat little trick I learned from Hinata Hyuga and Kiba Inuzuka." Sakura explained, smiling at the mention of Hinata's name.

"They're the tracker team, right?" Kisame tried recalling.

"…Yeah" she confirmed, but then shook her head seconds afterwards. "We should get going so we don't get caught up in the storm."

They all nodded and shortly afterwards, walked away.

It must have been an hour since they had entered Orochimaru's lair, and forty-five minutes since she had spoken a single word, not that she minded all too much. She just didn't like being in Orochimaru's lair without some form of comfort… such as like she would have usually have with Naruto or Sasuke, or even Kiba.

That was because they had been longtime childhood friends.

But now she had Itachi. Even though she didn't know him as much as he had hoped, the silence sort of brought on the thought of Sasuke, which had always been an endearing thought to her. But now… she wasn't sure if she really wanted to think of him, because then she remembered of his betrayal and the kiss he shared with Saki, and then she got reminded of _Saki,_ the only person (besides Orochimaru) which she could say with full honesty and certainty that she hated to death.

Sakura was forced to snap back to reality as Itachi, who was in front of her, stopped, and she bumped into him slightly. "S-Sorry" She looked past his shoulder to see a dead end. She sighed, turning back around, and saw a glint from the corner of her eye. "Itachi" she pointed to the floor, where she could now distinctly see a string connected from one end of the wall to the other.

"Trap" he confirmed.

"Yeah but…" Sakura furrowed her eyes in confusion. "We already activated it…" she saw the chakra thread was broken.

Sakura and Itachi immediately turned back to back, a kunai on each of their hands as they waited for something to happen.

There was a small shaking, almost like an earthquake, and a wall appeared at the other end of the hallway, and the two started coming closer and closer together.

"Wall trap…" Sakura murmured.

Itachi immediately made a quick earth jutsu to stop the wall, but as soon as it touched it, it crumbled into dirt. "Jutsus have no effect." Itachi's eyes narrowed just the slightest.

"Maybe I can…" Sakura didn't finish her sentence as he began running towards the opposite wall, her hand filled with chakra.

Her fist collided with the wall…

And she swore

_Loudly_

"Holy mother-" Sakura seethed, jumping back towards Itachi and wrapping her other hand around her fist, which she could tell, had broken a few bones. "It absorbs chakra with immediate contact rendering my techniques and jutsus useless." Sakura spoke.

Itachi threw a few exploding tags at it, and waited for the dust to clear.

_Nothing_

"And the material is strong enough to sustain a good amount of damage." Sakura added, after noticing they had failed.

Sakura stared up at Itachi as she saw the gears in his head turning. "Well then there is no other alternative." She heard him mutter.

"N-No, you don't mean…" Sakura couldn't even finish her sentence. "You'll go blind…" Sakura frowned.

"Better than dying, is it not?" Itachi questioned her.

Sakura frowned slightly as she noticed the walls were now deadly close. "No, I won't let you." She shook her head, and then quickly ran to the other wall, the one which wasn't moving.

'_Nothing' _she smirked, touching the wall. "I found our way out of here." Her voice was much louder than needed to because of the pressure, as she used her other hand this time, punching it just as hard as she had done before.

This time the wall crumbled, and Sakura wasted no time in pulling Itachi and herself out of there, tripping over the rubble in the process, just the as two walls collided with each other. She angled her body and turned around so as to not hit her face and closed her eyes, bracing for the impact as her body fell. She hit the floor with a small thud and groaned in pain. Sakura ignored the pain momentarily as she sighed in relief. _'Safe…' _

But opening her eyes, she didn't expect for Itachi to be on top of her, face to face, his hands on either side of her face.

Now that she thought about, she _had _been clutching onto his hand and pulled him out of there… she must have brought him down with her and let go as she fell.

His face was just as shocked as her, which she personally found sort of amusing, but ignored it. He rolled off of her seconds later and stood up, almost as if nothing had happened. "Thank you" he nodded slightly.

"Yeah, no problem." Sakura gave a hesitant smile as she sat up. She used her good hand and put it above her ankle, gripping it. "I think I sprained it… I can heal it, but I don't want to risk it… maybe Kisame or you need healing later on…" she trailed off.

"Can you walk?" Itachi asked.

"I… I think so…"

Against his usual actions and thoughts, he grabbed her arm and helped her up, watching as she tried standing on her sprained foot, but flinched and leaned back as soon as she did. She shook her head slowly.

Itachi closed his eyes for a second or so before opening them once more and scanning the room they now found themselves in.

"A lab…" Sakura gasped. "I'm sure this must have been Kabuto's at some point…" Sakura limped around the area, examining the supplies. "Maybe he as some things I could use."

Sure enough, she found a med-kit. She got Itachi to help her onto the gurney, as she opened up the med-kit and looked around for something she could use. She grabbed some bandages and some ointment. She took off her boot slowly, so as to not hurt herself, and poked at it to see the severity of the sprain.

Sakura healed her ankle slightly, just enough for her to walk properly, and then wrapped it up tightly and placed her boot back on. Sakura then healed her hand to heal the broken bones, because surely, she wouldn't be a good enough medic with only one hand available for healing.

"Let's get out of here…" Sakura said, looking around. Frankly, this place was creepy with jugs containing who knows what (Sakura didn't even want to find out). Not to mention the unwashed sinks in the lab were filled with blood, and there was a slightly putrid smell in the air.

Itachi nodded at her as they began looking for an exit, finding one fairly quickly at the opposite end of the room they had previously broken in to.

"Well this looks more promising." Sakura smiled triumphantly as they exited the lab. Now, on both their left and right, there were several doors, and not just empty corridors. "Should we split up or stick together?" Sakura awaited for Itachi's response.

He shook his head slightly. "You do not know what to look for." Itachi stated. In all truth, he was slightly wary of the fact that there might be more traps such as there had been back then.

He didn't think Sera would like it if he returned Sakura to her dead

Kisame might not be too happy either, now that he thought about it…

Sakura noted, going to the wall and leaving a small trace of her chakra. "Which way first?" she said after several seconds. Itachi looked right, and then left, before settling with left and walking that way, leaving Sakura to get a clue (an obvious one), and go left as well.

They started searching door for door this time, finding most of them empty with only a bed and a night stand.

After reaching the end of the hallway, which had taken about half an hour, and finding nothing, they sighed (well, actually only Sakura did), and returned from where they came from, and headed the opposite direction. The corridor on that side held no promise either, considering the rooms were empty as well, but it also had another hallway crossing it.

"Right or left?"

They tried their luck with right instead this time around.

_Dead end_

The other way this time.

Two more adjacent corridors.

"Let _me _pick this time." Sakura frowned slightly. Itachi merely nodded at her, thinking as if _she _could do any better. "Let's go with… right!" she exclaimed proudly as she took the turn.

This time there were three corridors.

"Umm… let's go straight." She demanded, not even waiting for his response as began walking.

_Two rights and one more left later…._

"Hey Itachi, this door looks promising." Sakura gazed up at it. It was just slightly bigger than the others, and seemed to be outlined in fine gold, plus the most important detail: it contained a key hole.

With a little chakra, the door crumbled to the floor and Sakura stepped over it. _"Very promising"_ she corrected herself, grinning.

Itachi waited for her to move to the side before he stepped in, and examined the door. "This is indeed Orochimaru's office." He agreed without missing a beat. And how did he know?

Well… there he was, pinned to the wall and decaying, so that gave a pretty good idea that it was.

Sakura usually never grinned, smiled, laughed, chuckled, or anything of the sort when it came to death, but this was an exception. It was Orochimaru, after all. Still, dead or alive, he was extremely creepy and ugly looking so…

She adverted her eye from him. "Any specifics on the scroll?"

"None to share"

Sakura nodded, not at all offended. She was sure this was just the whole secret he needed to keep for the sake of the mission, or something like that. "Well, you can start over there." Sakura pointed to the corner of the room where there was a shelf designated for carrying scrolls, a small compartment for each. "I'll check in the drawers." They split up while Itachi scanned the scrolls, grabbing some now and then for further inspection, or maybe just because he decided maybe he would like to keep some of them.

"Might your scroll contain forbidden jutsus?" Sakura questioned.

Itachi turned away from his own studying quickly, staring at Sakura who had a victorious smile on her face, holding up a scroll with one finger.

"Ahh" he confirmed.

She swiftly threw the scroll at him as he caught it with ease. "And now it's my turn to take a peek at his collection, if you don't mind." She ended up grabbing two scrolls, one of them containing healing techniques, which Sakura had guessed Orochimaru had gotten for the reason of healing his arms, and another which contained advanced earth style techniques.

"Now… we should find Kisame…" Sakura carefully tucked the scrolls in one of her pouches and then searched the area for Kisame's chakra signature. "He's not too far from here."

Five minutes later and one crumbled wall later, Sakura and Itachi found themselves face to face with Kisame, who at the moment had been staring at a few other scrolls in the room he was in.

"Hey" Sakura said lazily.

"You guys found it?" He questioned, pausing his search momentarily.

Itachi confirmed it by pulling out the scroll from under his cloak, and then tucking it back in seconds later.

"Great, let's go back now?"

Sakura sighed, letting her body wall back on to the dust bed. "It's too late for that now… we've over exceeded or limit. If we dare step foot out there for longer than three minutes we might as well be dead." Sakura refrained from coughing, just because she would look like an idiot.

Kisame sighed. "What now then?"

"Well… I don't think we have much of an option… we must stay here for the night." Sakura said slowly, leaning up against the wall.

"…"

"…"

Sakura frowned. Were they really that against the idea? "Well then… I call the bed!"

Kisame looked at her oddly. "You don't know who's slept on that bed. It could have been _Orochimaru._"

Sakura cringed at the thought. "Never mind then…" She looked around the room. This one was a little more… _well-supplied_ than the other ones, having a bigger room and bed with a rug underneath, and drawers to put clothes in, along with a dusty desk, and a fireplace. Maybe Kisame was right… clearly, who's ever room it was, he must have been important, meaning it was most likely either Kabuto's, Orochimaru's, or Sasuke's…

"Kisame, mind accompanying me for a little while?" Sakura asked.

"Huh?" he questioned.

"Me and Itachi ran into a lab a while back… I could have sworn I saw a broom there… maybe I can clean this place up a little." Sakura explained. Kisame nodded shortly afterwards. "Umm, Itachi, I don't suppose you can look around for some wood to make a fire or something?"

Itachi nodded and left without saying a word, and Sakura and Kisame left moments later.

"Sakura, I'm hungry." Kisame frowned.

"We ate like five hours ago Kisame." Sakura frowned, not understanding how someone could be hungry after such a short amount of time. Kisame chuckled sheepishly. Sakura shook her head and sighed. "Fine, let's go see if we can get you some food."

**End of Chapter**

**Oooh, lost inside Orochimaru's abandoned lair… that's gotta be extremely disturbing…**

**Anyway, updated how I said I would :D**

**Onto other news… Probably won't update as much now… working on Somewhere We Belong and Sakura's Heavenly Mistake next…**

**I'm posting updates on my profile that tells you all what I'm working on or what's going on if I can't update and hence forth, contact you readers ;D I'll try updating that at least once a week or so (:**

**Anyway… that's about it… Let's hope I can update this story again before the month is up o:**

**Any and all feedback is much appreciated**

**-Marzy-chan~~! :))**


	15. Vacation

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in any way, shape, or form.**

**Chapter 15: Vacation**

"Anything exciting happen?" Kisame asked as he and Sakura walked down the deserted and dusty alleyway.

"Not really… broke a few bones on my hand and sprained my ankle, but I healed most of it." Sakura dismissed it, not bothering to mention they nearly died –because in all reality, they wouldn't have. Because if she didn't break the wall, Itachi would have merely used his Amaterasu, and that was that. Fin.

"I see…" Kisame nodded slowly.

"What about you?" Sakura asked, trying to keep the conversation alive.

"Oh, booby traps here and there, but nothing I couldn't handle." Kisame grinned.

Sakura nodded slowly, yawning slightly, and stretching out her arms. "So… all this for a boring scroll with forbidden jutsus?" Sakura questioned.

"Yeah pretty much." Kisame shook his head in a disapproving manner.

"How lame" Sakura frowned in distaste. Seriously, to be woken up in the middle of the night (from what Kisame had bothered to tell her), and then being told they must travel to Sound of all places, a very, very far distance away, mind you, to retrieve a scroll deemed **so** important, yet until the previous week, forgotten, in the freezing cold…

Sakura would have been _pissed_

No doubt about it, she would have thrown a fit, broken a few walls, and maybe, just maybe, killed Hidan a couple of times.

This was how you just _knew_ Sakura was never cut out to be a rogue, let alone a member in the deadly, inthe infamous Akatsuki ranks. Sakura was _much_ too emotional for her own good, and was quick to express her feelings, especially when displeased or showing the emotion _anger, _in particular. She cared for others too much, and could not severe ties as good as she wanted too, which would always be a bad thing for Akatsuki, if they were going for such a goal as world-domination. Formalities always did tie someone down, and that was something Akatsuki definitely did not need. I mean, look at Itachi, he literally had _no one_ (and Sasuke didn't count, because he hated his guts), but that was another issue to discuss another day.

Yeah, Sakura was much better off being in Sound and helping them as best she could from there, which, as any intellectual person would know, would be pretty useful. Having a secret ally ready to help at any given moment, one close to an enemy such as Konoha even, would be something any smart shinobi or country would want. See, she was being extremely helpful now, even when they hadn't actually come to her for help, by getting them to the right place, and even finding the scroll for them.

"Tell me about it" Kisame's response to her retort had snapped her out of her thoughts. "I bet he only gave us the mission because he knew out of everyone, Itachi would be the one to complain the least." Kisame frowned. "Sometimes I wonder why I was cursed with the luck of having Itachi as my partner."

Sakura laughed slightly. "And somehow, I think Itachi sometimes asks the same question as well. I wouldn't be surprised if he did so, at least."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Kisame frowned in displeasure. Was Sakura picking on him? _'Not her too...'_

Sakura laughed a hearty laugh, but dismissed his comment. "We're here." She changed the subject.

As Sakura had recalled, there had been a broom there, along with a dust pan. Unfortunately, Kisame hadn't had much luck when it came to food. Sakura had found some tea packets, of which she was glad for, but most of all the food was spoiled or just looked too nasty to eat in general. Geez, snake-pedos sure did have wierd taste in food, she'll give him that.

"You know, I'm sure I have some snacks in my pack." Sakura tried remembering correctly. "Naruto used to always get hungry along the way, so I used to carry extra food with me just in case his growling stomach became too much." Even after everything, she couldn't help but speak fondly of him. It had become a force of habit to always stick up for Naruto, and love him like any sister should and would.

And surely, if Hinata still thought of her…

No doubt Naruto would too, right? (She sure hoped so, because if there was any tie she couldn't break, it would be Naruto's).

Well, that was what she hoped anyway… After all, she had thought the same of Sasuke…

"Let's go" Sakura's thoughts were treading dangerous grounds now, and Sakura tried diverting her attention as best as she could by walking away quickly and thinking thoughts of cleaning Orochimaru's lair, though that itself didn't help to get her mind off of Sasuke, considering he _had _stayed here while with Orochimaru.

Well this sucked...

By the time Sakura and Kisame arrived back in the room, Itachi was already there, fire started and wood placed alongside it, snow on his Akatsuki cloak –now partially wet, as it was tossed aside near the drawers.

Sakura wasted no time in sweeping the area roughly, dubbing it neat enough only when she couldn't spot a single hint of dirt or dust on the floor, to the point where she could rub her hand on it, and have it still clean.

Sakura had in fact brought some granola bars, eight to be precise. She gave Kisame two and left the remaining six in her bag, which would most likely serve as their breakfast in the morning.

And then came the sleeping arrangements…

Though Sakura wasn't exactly against sleeping in her own little corner, they were faced with a small problem.

You see, Sakura got cold easily.

And not to mention Itachi's cloak was still wet, which meant there were only two cloaks in total for _three _people to use…

So, after ten rather awkward minutes of figuring out how to sleep, Sakura found herself sandwiched between Kisame, and Itachi on her other side, though clearly not as close and comfortable as Kisame was. He was, as Sakura believed it, still rather cautious of the fact she would kick him in her sleep. And maybe, just maybe, he had the right to be cautious (she sure wouldn't blame him if he were, at least).

Though in all reality, he shouldn't really worry. Sakura usually only kicked to her _left._

'_Tough luck Kisame' _she grinned slightly and then closed her eyes, drifting off into a familiar place she called dream land.

* * *

"You know, Itachi had a good reason for not wanting to sleep next to you." Kisame muttered sourly, rubbing his neck sorely with one hand, and the other massaging his rib. "You nearly hit my _pressure point_" No, he hadn't been exaggerating.

Sakura grinned. "You're fault for wanting to be the closest one to the fire." she nearly sing-songed, finding it way better to have assaulted Kisame in her sleep rather that Itachi. Hey, in her defense, at least she knew Kisame wouldn't kill her for such an assualt... even though he might get back at her, some way or another...

And from the corner of her eye, she could tell even Itachi seemed slightly pleased it hadn't been him to be nearly killed by her this time around.

And if she knew Itachi well enough, she would know he was _extremely _pleased, though Kisame was the only one who could actually tell, mainly because of the fact that she had actually gotten Kisame as well, not him. It was like she was doing his bidding and getting back at Kisame for him!

Well, that was beside the point now. It was morning, they were in Orochimaru's creepy underground pedo-cave, and they needed to get the hell out of there.

Oh, and Kisame was hungry once more, but that was honestly the least of Itachi's, aswell as Sakura's, worries.

* * *

"Home. Sweet. Home." Sakura dragged her body to the couch, which she promtply fell on, and then savored the warmth, comfort, and usual, homey smell -three things she had not gotten the previous night while in an Akatsuki sandwhich between Kisame and Itachi.

"We missed Sera's breakfast." was all Kisame complained about, his frown in place, scowl being formed.

Sakura rolled her eyes, though her eyes were closed. "We nearly died half an hour ago trying to get out of that hell-hole, and all you can think about is food." she half murmured through the pillow that was currently in her face.

"We didn't nearly _die_" Kisame denied.

"You're arm was nearly torn right out of its socket." Sakura's voice sounded slightly upset, though one could not tell whether it was because Kisame sounded stupid, or because she had been the one that had to _heal _him afterwards.

"Still not dead." he nearly sing-songed.

"Whatever." she didn't bother arguing. Truth be told, the only reason they had gotten out of there as soon as they did was because Sakura had gotten _so _pissed off, she broken _every single wall in their way, _creating a path for them, which eventually created an exit. "There's toast and butter in the fridge." And Kisame found, with much amusement, that butter, along with cheese, ham, lettuce, mayonnaise, mustard, and ketchup were the only things Sakura actually had in her fridge. "I eat out at Sera's most of the time, alright?" she frowned and furrowed her eyebrows as Kisame questioned her fridge with an annoying (in her opinion) snort.

"Totally" Sakura could practically hear the amusement dripping from his tone.

Sakura couldn't remember much of anything else afterwards. She heard some noise, one of them being the toaster popping the toast out, and Kisame rambling on about something being troublesome, most likely the mission, but she found she fell asleep soon enough... No, Sakura wasn't one to sleep all day and night, but she had hardly gotten any sleep in an uncomfortable floor of Orochimaru's pedo-cave, and she had used all her chakra healing the two _dim-wits _she called companions. Seriously, S-Class criminals? She could laugh at the comment, had she not been asleep already.

Inner laughing would have to do.

In all reality, she was sure they just weren't trying because they hadn't expected his cave to be that well booby-trapped, along with the fact that they had a medic to heal them if they ran into any risky circumstances. And really, to be completely honest, she had actually healed Kisame the most, while Itachi had only sustained minimal injuries, none that serious to actually be considered dangerous.

But as of now, that was beside the point, and completely irrelevant. She was tired, her feet hurt, she was cold, and she had had enough mentally unstable S-Class criminals, Orochimaru included.

* * *

Sakura guessed she had woken up at around dinner time. Her eyes were still closed, somehow hoping that she would just fall asleep once more, but she knew it wouldn't be possible. She found she was wrapped in an Akatsuki cloak (an endearing thought, as she presumed it had been Kisame who had been the one to put it on her), and it was completely silent. Finding it quiet and safe, Sakura did what she always did nearly every morning before waking up, when she was sure she was alone.

She stretched, mewling like a cat all the while, and got up slowly, her eyes beginning to open as they adjusted to the light.

-And there Itachi was, sitting on the sofa opposite her own, an amused smirk planted on his **'gorgeous' **features. Sakura was quick to blush a cherry red. Sakura had often been made fun of, mainly by Ino, Sasuke and Naruto, about her "cat sounds" in the morning (Sasuke had said it they were cute, though), and now, seeing Itachi's face as it was now, she knew he would not let it go for a while.

_'At least it wasn't Kisame. He'd never let me live it down.'_

And it was true. Sure, Itachi would get his laugh, but he would never openly make fun of her for it -he was not the type to do so, let alone open his mouth and talk. His smirk stayed intact for several seconds, and Sakura's blush just deepened.

After a while, Sakura excused herself to the bathroom, hurriedly running off, nearly tripping on the corner of the couch (which nearly made Itachi chuckle), and then running even faster, until you heard a door shut loudly.

Well... that couldn't have been any more embarrassing...

* * *

"Gaara!" Naruto practically enveloped said person in a bear hug the moment he laid eyes on him, now entering his office with his team following shortly behind him. The red-head smiled slightly, warmly almost, as he accepted the familiar blonde's hug, though he himself did not hug back. "It's been far too long, Gaara." Naruto smiled as he felt the familiar sandy exterior of Gaara's rough, cool skin.

"It has." Gaara agreed, waiting for Naruto to release him so he could survey the group Tsunade had brought him. The occupants in the room all seemed slightly bitter or gloomy, standing awkwardly on edge, or leaning on a wall, staring outside.

_'So this is the one-tail container.' _Saki examined Gaara, from his small form, to his heavy black bags. She had heard much about him; he used to be a cold-blooded killer who took mercy on no one, and held no ties, not even to his own blood -which all changed when he met Naruto.

Still, no matter what, he was creepy looking, and had killed many.

And no, she would not be reminded that Sasuke had done worse than he had while he had stayed with Orochimaru.

Once everyone had been settled, they had gotten right down to bussiness, Shikamaru being dragged away by someone called "Temari" if Saki remembered correctly. She was brutal, loud, didn't stand for any hesitance, and seemed to be particularly harsh on Shikamaru. Saki couldn't really blame her though -he was unusually quiet, always had some form of sassy, stuck up, smart comment to say, and kept saying everything was "annoying", Temari in particular.

Maybe there was a chance of being able to befriend her?

Much to Saki's displeasure, shortly after the meeting, she and Shizune had been put right to work -and, after all that, she had been notified she would be sharing a room with her.

Just great.

And to top it all off, she hadn't even seen Sasuke for the remainder of the day!

Of course, that had mainly been because he himself had been avoiding her, but...

it wasn't like _she _would accept that or anything... Pshht, of course no!

But on the other hand, Sasuke had gotten to his room (which he found out he shared with the dobe), and locked himself in the bathroom, taking a shower, shedding all the sand that was on him.

He could still remember one of the very first times he came to Suna...

_"Sasuke-kun, cheer up. I know it's hot, but you don't need to be so grumpy and such. You're bringing me down__." Sakura said with a small frown._

_"Yeah, **Sasuke-kun**," Naruto teased, which earned him a hard earned smack on the back of the head by Sasuke, who was blushing slightly, staring the other direction, away from Sakura._

_Frankly, Sakura didn't understand. Not that she really wanted to know; the dobes could be dobes for all she cared -it's not like she would ever understand how they functioned properly as best friends._

_The truth of the matter was, Naruto was making fun of Sasuke because of the recent news of him now being in a relationship... with Sakura..._

_-henceforth the '-kun' that was now said after his name everytime she addressed him, which had not been done since he left Konoha back when they were Genin, all those years ago._

_Sakura was walking, alongside Sasuke, holding his hand, with an orange popsicle on the other, while Naruto was on the other side of Sasuke, walking around grinning with his hands behind his head, as if he didn't have a care in the world. Really, it was just because he finally had something over Sasuke -not blackmail, persay, but it was a weakness which Sasuke had openly admitted (which was something he had vowed he would never do long ago), by going out with her and all. And what better way to grind an Uchihas' gears than by taunting them, and reminding them how they had **fallen **for someone (not to mention Sakura, the complete opposite of him) and henceforth, acted upon their weak, needy side. Still, the fact that it was hot, and that Naruto was teasing him to no end was not the only reason why he was upset right now... The mission **itself **got him so... **irritated**..._

_It had been a simple escort mission, and since they had done it rather quickly (Naruto and Sakura wanted to have time to visit Gaara and shop around the town center, and the escortee insisted on spending time with Sasuke, because he was just that **'hot', **__and so he had given her a piggy back ride the whole way there, Sakura and Naruto laughing maniacally with evil grins on their faces the whole time, not forgetting to take pictures, and laughing every time the girl tried... **touching him**... really, what type of girlfriend would willingly let some other girl touch their boyfriend like that...? He sure was an idiot for even asking her out... she was just so... weird, and unlike anyone he had ever met... (but maybe that was the reason why he had felt attracted to her to begin with...)_

Sasuke couldn't help but punch the toled wall harshly at the memory, remembering Sakura's laugh, her smile, her distinct features...

He still missed her...

...and he would always miss her...

"Sasuke-teme, hurry up already! I need to use the bathroom _really _badly!" Really, this was only due to the fact that Sasuke was brooding, so Naruto had been left to entertain himself by hanging with Kankuro; Gaara was much too busy now, being Kazekage and all, and Temari had dragged Shikamaru elsewhere to do evil, _horrible _stuff to him (as Shikamaru made it seem). So, what had they done? The only thing two crazed idiots would do when presented upon an all-access hotel kitchen (being Gaara's best mate and brother did have its certain... good points) with unlimited access to food; first they stuffed their faces, and once having eaten all the good stuff, they underwent a water drinking contest. "I'm telling you, my bladder's about to burst! Dattebayo!"

Sasuke sighed, at least slightly relieved he'd be able to get his mind off of Sakura, even if just for the slightest of moments, as he leaned his forehead on the tiled wall for a few seconds, letting the water pour in on him, before turning off the cool water, and getting out. He had only wrapped the towel around his torso and unlocked the door when Naruto burst in there, not even waiting for Sasuke to exit the bathroom, let alone close it, as he sighed in relief. Had Sasuke been in a better move, he would have rolled his eyes at the idiotic antics of his best friend. Right now though, he could hardly care...

Once Naruto finished... taking care of bussiness, he locked himself back in, changed into black shorts and a black tank top, before laying on the bed next to the air conditioning, cranking it up, and staring at the ceiling. Naruto had tried making conversation with him, but soon deemed it worthless, noting that Sasuke was having one of 'those moments' again, and left, saying something about a second round with Kankuro, if Sasuke heard correctly, anyway. He hadn't really been paying all too much attention to him, instead, just gazing at the ceiling, switching to the window every now and then as he surveyed the bright hot weather outside.

He never really did like the sun... and it was supposed to be winter right now...

* * *

"You guys, I've been meaning to ask you..." Sakura began, making conversation as she began cooking up some food, having now borrowed some vegetables and rice from Sera. From the couches, Itachi and Kisame looked back slightly, waiting patiently for her to continue. "Where does the Sound Village stand, as in the leading powers, I mean?" She got out a cutting board and a knife, as she began chopping onions. "I mean, surely after Orochimaru left, someone should have taken over, and all..."

"That would've been the case, had Orochimaru not taken everything along with him." Kisame explained.

Sakura looked back shortly, to give him a questioning look. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well," Kisame searched for a way to clarify things, "even if he was a missing-nin and all, he was the real kage for the village. But aside from that, there were no elders or council members, or other form of limiting government, so he was in control of absolutely everything. Any leading heads, or people with more power than the average person obviously worked directly under him, and obviously, they have been wiped out as well." Kisame explained. "So the only shinobi who used to work with Orochimaru left are the few insignificant grunts that were left behind or fled, but they aren't powerful enough to become the next kages or anything. Not to mention, Orochimaru didn't take good care of his city to begin with, so its still in turmoil." Kisame explained.

"I see..." Sakura frowned slightly. "It's such a shame too... Sound has so many wonderful qualities to it too..." she muttered this mostly to herself.

"Is there a sudden interest in Sound?" It was Itachi who spoke up this time.

Sakura looked up, not really expecting Itachi to actually speak to her. "Well... sort of... I mean, I do have to admit I _have _grown fond of this place and all... plus, there is a lot that _could _be done to improve the financial and economic well-being of this place, and I'm not trying to be cocky or anything, but I am pretty darn strong, and smart to boot, but..." Sakura smile slightly, a fake smile of sorts, "I'm supposed to be dead, so there's not too much I myself can do, is there?"

The gears in Itachi's head began turning.

He would have to get back to Pein on this one...

"So when are you guys leaving?" Sakura changed the subject. The part of her 'being dead' and all was starting to bring up memories she had tried very hard to supress ever since her encounter with the Akatsuki.

"Maybe tomorrow, or the day after that. We just need to stock up on supplies and return to destory Orochimaru's base, so no one else can go in there." Kisame explained.

"I see... well, if that's the case, maybe I could accompany you two?" Sakura suggested, unsurely almost.

Kisame raised an eyebrow. "Is there any reason in particular?" he asked. "Not that I don't want you to go, or anything." he added immediately afterwards, realizing that it sounded like he didn't want her to go... which he did... because, really, if anyone thought about it, having someone alongside him who would actually _talk _would be rather enjoyable...

"Not really, besides to visit everyone again... spend the holidays there too, perhaps...?" it was more of a hopeful question.

Kisame grinned. "Well, it would be an honor to have you."

Sakura smiled lightly, feeling loved and adored (a feeling which she usually got when around her _ex-_team), and then set back to work in the kitchen, deciding that dinner should be held soon.

* * *

"I see..." Sera frowned slightly.

"You don't think they'll be too disappointed, do you?" Sakura frowned as she patted Suki and Suzuki's heads, both of them now asleep on her lap.

"Well, they _were_ really excited about spending the holidays with you..." Sera looked at them. "But I'm sure they'll understand... Actually, they might be pretty psyched." she smiled slightly.

"What do you mean?" Sakura furrowed her eyebrows.

"Well... you... spending Christmas with Itachi..." Sera gave a sly smile. Sakura just sighed. She was too tired to argue with Sera tonight... besides, it usually didn't work out in her favor, so what was the point? Plus, if it helped the little ones not be too disappointed that she was leaving soon without any notice on top of that, then she wouldn't mind it... just this once though... "When will you be leaving with them?" Sera changed the subject, mentally doing a little happy dace as she recognized that Sakura did not argue with her this time around.

"Umm... either tomorrow or the day after, but I'm sure it'll be the day after... I have yet to pack my belongings and things like that." Sakura explained.

"I see... well Sakura, you will be missed." Sera sighed.

"I'll only be gone for a couple of weeks Sera. I'm not leaving forever." she shook her head lightly, smiling.

"Oh, but you never know. Maybe you two get caught under a mistletoe, and fall deeply and madly in love with each other, and you decide to marry and stay with Itachi. But, in any case, you would have to come visit after the wedding, perhaps as a honey moon of sorts, and you will _definitely _have to come over when you're pregnant with his child, and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa Sera!" Not only was she talking _much _too fast for Sakura to actually comprehend her, but she had heard the words "mistletoe, in love, wedding, and pregnant," all of which being words she didn't quite like, especially if it was Itachi's and her own name present at the beginning of that sentence. "Slow down, don't get carried away." she was both talking about her vocal chords and her crazy imagination, not that Sera would take to listening to her any time soon, in either case.

Sera merely smiled, a lazy, dreamy smile that seemed to know more than it let on, but Sakura wasn't feeling up for the challenge of trying to figure out what she was thinking. Believe it or not, Sera was _extremely_ hard to crack, even if she was just a normal Sound civillian, one, mind you, that didn't even live in one of the more richer parts of Sound (not that any part of Sound was rich to begin with at this point, ever since the overthrow of Orochimaru).

So, eventually, Sakura decided to drop it and go to sleep.

* * *

"Pein, we've recieved word from Itachi and Kisame." Konan didn't even bother knocking on the door as she entered his office, Pein merely reading up on some paperwork on his desk.

Pein looked up with a small glare, but over-looked it (as he had done a thousand times already) as he held out his hand, waiting for Konan to give him the letter. Konan had always said she was much too close to him for any of the "formality shit" as she had put it with her bold attitude, which included knocking before entering, addressing him as 'Leader-sama', and having to obey _all _the rules he had made, even the most ridiculous ones (Such as lights out at 12:30 maximum).

Oh, and another one:

Do not read mail addressed to Leader-sama.

Which, she had so kindly ignored, for the letter was open. "It seems they ran into Sakura while over there." Pein distinctly remembered the pink-haired girl, having just been with her a month or so prior to now.

_'So she really did start over in Sound.' _Pein noted distinctly as he read the letter Itachi had sent him. _'Truthful, and as Itachi has mentioned, loyal.' _Yes, Itachi had described in full detail how she had taken them in, healed them, helped locate the scroll, and even saved them from dying once or twice (only Kisame though). Even though the message should have been sent to tell Pein that they had successfully retrieved the scroll, something else caught Pein's attention, as Itachi knew it would, because it had attracted his attention too, which was mainly the reason to him writing it in the first place...

They were onto something, perhaps...?

"And she's coming with them to visit us." Konan had said out loud, right before Pein actually got to the part where Kisame's sloppy yet excited writing cut in and wrote it out "Sakura's coming with us! Make sure Hidan airs out his room, we don't want it smelling like putrid meat when we get back.", which could have made Pein at least smirk slightly, had Kisame actually not been serious... unfortunately, he was completely serious, and it was an issue they had to address (even if they were Akatsuki, infamous band of rebels, they still had even a decent amount of class, and Sakura _was _a guest, he supposed... one which may end up being helpful, not to mention...)

"Go tell Hidan to clean his room right away." he said as a side-note, before he could forget.

Konan scoffed from the sidelines "Already did." Yeah, that was just how good she was... Honestly, sometimes she felt like she was under-appreciated in the base. But no matter... it wasn't like she had the heart to confront Pein about the issues she had, and what could be done to make this place better for _everyone_.

No, she was happy just being able to be with Pein every day...

And that was all she could ask for...

_For now..._

_"_Why the sudden interest in Sakura? I mean, I'm not complaining or anything: she's a sweet girl and all, but what could you possibly get from a girl who hardly carries her worth as a shinobi anymore?_" _Konan liked Sakura; she really did, but with her social standing, meaning she had _none _as of now, there wasn;t much she _could _be used for, and let's face it, Pein hardly _ever_ surrounded himself with people who were of no value to him.

"She is an exceptionally strong kunoichi, I won't deny it." Pein began. "And I would be foolish to not admit that her worth as of now is very... low..." he contemplated his words. "But she is exceptionally young, devoted, and not to mention, as everyone thinks her to be, dead." Pein interlaced his fingers as he propped his elbows on his desk, his chin falling on his hands. "Perhaps, with a little help and support, she might just become a valuable asset to our organization." the gears in his head were turning, all the endless possibilities running through his head like a hamster on a wheel.

"I see..." Now that she thought about it, it did make sense, sort of, why Pein was looking into Sakura right now. Sure, she may not technically _be _in Akatsuki, but having a medic-nin at their disposal so close from Konoha even... well, maybe it was just too good to pass up a good offer, especially since they were currently lagging it in the medical field right now...

"Please get someone to prepare a room for Ms. Haruno. She will be spending the holidays with us. That is all." Pein regarded Sakura kindly almost, as he put the letter aside somewhere, and continued doing what he had been prior to Konan's entrance.

"I'm already on it." Konan said her last statement as she shut the door to his office, walking away briskly. It would be rather enjoyable having Sakura here, she had to admit. With her not being the only girl in the vincinity, maybe she would be able to shine some 'Christmas light' on the lair this time around (even though Tobi himself always _did _try to pull off something special...thought it usuallynever worked out too well...)

Besides...

She had _so _missed the girl-talk.

With a small chuckle, mostly ridiculing her feminine side that _neeeded_ to vent out male frustration to someone (Hidan, Tobi, and Pein in particular), preferably over a peticure and soft pajamas, she went off to find one of the servants to tell them to prepare a room for their most-aniticpated guest (at least in her opinion, although she highly doubted there would be anyone else they they should be expecting for the holidays this time around).

Oh, and should she expect that Sakura would make them decorate the base from top to bottom, mistletoes, christmas trees, and holiday wreaths all included?

_You better bet your ass !_

Konan could only conlude that this Christmas would not be such a boring one after all, like all the other ones had bee the prior years before the arrival of Sakura. And, as the only form of female comfort for Sakura, she somehow made it her top priority and job to make this Christmas as enjoyable as it possibly _could_ be for Sakura, having no real family to share it with now, after the whole... 'incident' with that Saki girl Sakura talked so illfully about.

Honestly, Konan had nearly ran to Konoha to assasinate Saki after she had heard such a tale, but many factors contributed to her resisting the fight. Not only was that _Konoha_, one of the most powerful villages at the time (no thanks to the Kyuubi and Tsunade, one of the great sannin running the joint), but it would also raise aware-ness that was probably uneeded... not to mention Sakura still had some pretty close ties to some of the people living in there (Hinata and Naruto, for example), and Konan couldn't promise that she wouldn't hurt anyone else if they ever got in her way...

So, in a way, this was the only thing Konan could actually do for Sakura...

She just had to hope it would be enough.

**End of Chapter**

**So sorry for the long wait everybody ! But i finally got it up ! The next few chapters will be a lot more... eventful, you could say, in the particular case of pairings (PeinxKonan included!) Well... .I think that's all I need to say for now...**

**Any and all feedback is much appreciated (it's my birthday today too, so mind dropping off a little present? x] haha jk, its optional.**

**-Marzy-chan~~! :))**


	16. Santa

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters in any way, shape, or form.**

**Chapter 16: Even During Christmas Akatsuki is Devious**

"What is _she _doing here." Hidan looked at Sakura with narrowed eyes.

"Well, Hidan, if you had properly listened to me these past three days, you would have heard me when I _repeatedly _told you we would be having guests over soon."

"No, I heard you when you said we were having guests over alrighty." Hidan glanced at Konan for the slightest of moments, before returning to glare at Sakura. "But I wasn't informed that our so called _"_guests" would be Sakura. Why _her_, of all people?"

"Aww, I missed you too Hidan." Sakura said all too sweetly, embracing him in a bear hug (literally). Seconds later, you could hear his back crack painfully, and he glowered in response, but said nothing else, afraid she might take it a notch higher the next time he spoke ill of her.

"Don't mind him Sakura." Konan chuckled slightly. "He's just grumpy we made him air out his room, is all. He really did miss you."

Hidan, in response, gave the slightest of blushes. "I did **not** miss the bitch!" he stammered. "I'm just looking forward to a rematch, is all." He rejected the _absurd _idea all too quickly, it almost looked sispicious.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan! Tobi is sure Hidan is squealing on the inside, much like Tobi is doing on the outside!" and Tobi, for what could be the fifth time since her arrival at the base (which couldn't be more than fifteen minutes), jumped on Sakura and hugged her much like a child would cling to their mother when scared.

"R-Right..." Sakura chuckled, half nervously, because the previous four or so times he had hugged her, she had nearly run out of breath, and she started seeing specks of black on her vision.

"Alright, alright, get off of her Tobi." Deidara grabbed Tobi by the hair and pulled him away from Sakura for the fifth time the past fifteen minutes, who although thankful for the personal room, felt bad at the way Tobi was being treated.

"Were you taking pictures Konan?" Kisame suddenly alerted, just now actually _noticing _the camera Konan had in her hand.

"Why yes, I was, actually."

"What the... but when did you..." Sakura could have _sworn _she had absolutely no camera in her hand 30 seconds ago.

"I happen to like this picture." she showed everyone the camera screen, where Sakura was trying to push Tobi away from her, with Deidara prying them apart, and Kisame in the background pointing at some random direction, laughing. (That had actually been where Hidan hit his face on the wall entering the kitchen when he heard the words "Sakura!" shrieked, no thanks to Tobi. (Yeah, he really was thrown off by Sakura's appearance, Hidan, that is)

"Let me see that." Sakura snatched the camera all to quickly, zooming through all the pictures Konan had taken without having anyone (besides Itachi, that is) notice it. You see, Sakura tended to not be that photogenic... _'But surprisingly, these all came out pretty good...' _Sakura smiled approvingly. _'Either Konan has godly photography skills or I've been increasingly happy being around Akatsuki.'_

For all she knew, it was a little of both.

"GROUP PICTURE!" Deidara screamed suddenly, snatching the camera from Sakura. "Konan, how do you put this on the timer, thing-a-majig un?" Deidara stared at the strange mechanism in his hands oddly, looking for a buttom, or some form if indication of how to set it up.

"Give me it." Konan sighed (Deidara truly was hopeless when it came to technology). "Get in your positions everyone!" They all moved hurriedly to the entrance of the kitchen.

"Wait!" Tobi shrieked suddenly, and everyone turned to him oddly. "Tobi will get Leader-sama for the picture!" and so he dashed away, leaving a dust trail behind him.

"He really is serious about this whole picture thing, isn't he?" Sakura stared back at where he had previously been seconds ago (Akatsuki status put aside, Sakura almost forgot he had to be uber-skilled to get into Akatsuki to begin with. What with his childish attitude and injury prone self (because everyone got a kick out of hitting Tobi when he was annoying), it wasn't too hard to forget, after all. "Look at him go." Sakura and Kisame chuckled slightly.

"Leader-sama!"

Pein was so rudely disturbed by the pesky Akatsuki member who barged into his door almost as if... almost as if he were _Konan._

"What is is Tobi?" Pein glared, mainly because Tobi had broken one of his "knock before entering" rules.

He took a big breath, almost as if he were getting ready to say some long speek-

_'Oh boy' _Pein quickly thought sourly-

-before letting out his long rant. "Well, Sakura Haruno-chan just arrived from Sound along with Itachi-kun and Kisame-kun, and we were all taking pictures, and Hidan hit a wall, and everyone laughed, and, and, and-" It looked like the poor boy was hyperventilating, having too much to say all at once.

"Tobi, what was the point of entering my office?" he cut him off.

Tobi took one last, deep breath. "We want to take pictures."

And that had been that.

"And why, pray-tell, could you not have _knocked, _and simply stated that instead of barging in here like a maniac and then promptly rambling on like an idiot, successfully wasting my time?"

"..." Tobi had nothing to say to this, mainly because there was no _real _reason why he hadn't done this.

"Let's just go." he didn't want him to start crying, begging on his knees for forgiveness (it had happened before), so he quickly stood up, and then left, Tobi following quietly behind him, almost like a child who had just gotten scolded by a parent.

* * *

"They're back un!" Deidara grinned as Pein entered, glaring slightly, but nonetheless there, and Tobi, awfully quiet.

"Alright, everyone pinch in a little." Konan said. "The timer is set to go off after 10 seconds, so we have time. Also, I set it to take five pictures with a time period of two seconds between the flashes, just in case one of use blinks or something" Konan explained. After she quickly clicked the button, she hurried to her spot at the front right next to Sakura, with all the tall people, namely Zetsu, Kisame, and Kakuzu, at the back, with the 'not-as-tall-but-still-taller-than-them' section, which consisted of all the guys, minus Tobi, who was still awfully quiet, standing to the right of Sakura (Konan on her left) right behind Pein.

**(A/N: Just to avoid confusion, I'm going to visually place their names in the location and order they should be in.)**

Zetsu Kisame Kakuzu

Pein Deidara Hidan Sasori Itachi

Tobi Sakura Konan

10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...

And at the very last moments, Kisame gave a loud sneeze, sending snot and who knows what else flying to Deidara and Hidan, who both shrieked loudly (in Hidan's opinion his was a _manly _sort of shriek, just because it involved cursing.)

(A flash occured, letting everyone know the first pictured had been taken)

Kakuzu had planned to kick Hidan for being such an inbecile and cursing so loudly, but had kicked the wrong foot accidently and had actually kicked _Sasori_, who out of pure instinct and partial anger at the odd and random intrusion to his being, turned around and punched Kakuzu with his right hand because, let's face it, he was _not _about to get kicked and let whoever it was get away with it (the next flash was seen), who toppled over and was pushed to his right by the sudden attack and consequently made both Zetsu and Kisame fall forward, which inevitably dragged down down Deidara, and Hidan, while Sasori was left clinging to Itachi, so as to not be brought down with Hidan, who had been clinging to _him_. (third flash) Itachi glared a despicable glare at Sasori at the foreign contact, and right at that very second Tobi burst into tears, clinging to Pein.

"Tobi's so s-sorry Leader-sama! Tobi d-didn't mean to u-upset Leader-s-sama! It was an honest m-mistake, and Tobi just forgot to k-knock, Tobi s-swears!"

And Pein just looked bitterly at the camera as it flashed for the fourth time, while Tobi played his melodrama, crying tears on his chest almost as if he were a _girl_, or his _girlfriend _or something. _Why him? _The anfer began bubbling up inside of him.

And Konan just looked at Tobi oddly, giving almost an incredulous look at Tobi's actions (he dared touch Pein and not die by his hands?)

Oh wait, correction:

He was now being chocked to death by Pein, and she was left jumping over Sakura to try to save poor Tobi's life and stop the inveitable death, while Sakura was hurled backwards by the force of her sudden leap-frog jump, as she was hurled into Itachi. What with Sasori already cleaning to him, and the sudden weight of Sakura, they both fell over, Sasori included, just as the fifth flash finally blinded the rest of the people still staring at the camera (which, if one thought about it, was probably _no one_).

Everyone except for Pein, Konan, and Tobi was now on the floor, groaning at the pain, while Tobi just cried his little tears, apologizing over and over and over again for screwing up.

Sakura, momentarily ignoring the fact that she was currently half on Itachi, and half on Sasori, began giggling a little, before it broke out into full fits of laughters, and soon enough, so was Konan and Kisame, and Hidan and Deidara too, with the rest of the non-emotional ones to even crack a smile, or a smirk even.

"I must've looked ridiculous sneezing." Kisame tried to subdue his laugther.

"Yeah, and Hidan shrieking like a girl." Sakura sighed deeply, trying ot contain her laughter, but it only resumed once she remembered the scream.

"I was not shrieking alright! But then again, anyone else would, having shark snot on them." Hidan blushed slightly at the humiliation.

"It's alright Hidan, I shrieked too un.

Well _that_ wasn't that much support, considering Deidara already _acted _a lot like a girl to begin with, but whatever, he dismissed it for now.

Konan, who stared down at them all, smiled, as she hurried to the camera. "Alright, one more picture you guys, just like that. We have to have at least one decent picture." She used her origami to hold the camera in place in the air, setting the timer to go off in 10 seconds once again, before she ran back to the group, tackling Pein and Tobi to the ground. They landed with an "oomph", Pein landing on Zetsu's legs, Konan on top of him, a little to the side, and Tobi being sprawled across Deidara, Hidan, and Sasori, his head resting on Sakura's stomach.

Pein glared at Konan, but she merely smiled up at him. "Just this once Pein, please, just for me, smile." the request was said almost too kindly, a voice Konan never used in front of the rest of the Akatsuki members, that Pein had no choice but to comply with her request. So initially, yes, he cracked a smile.

And just like that, the picture was taken.

* * *

"Onto other pressing matters." Once everyone had finished looking at the pictures and making fun of everyone (namely Kisame, Hidan, and Deidara), they merely chit-chatted about Sakura's new "life" and how she was fairing in Sound. "We should be discussing what will be occuring for the holidays." Pein changed the subject quickly, wanting to return to his office as soon as possible and finish his paperwork.

Not that he didn't _adore_ his Akatsuki underlings or anything...(more than half of them annoyed him to some extent, truth be told), but he really should be going.

"We can just do our little Secret Santa un." Deidara shrugged.

"Oh yeah, because it turned out _so _great last year." Sasori muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Most of the presents _were _half-assed, if you ask me." Kisame noted.

"Well, in the spirit of Sakura's stay with us, we should at least make it a little more welcoming." Konan sighed.

"And I fully agree." Pein nodded. "So this year, no _prank presents_, as you love to call them, Kisame. I want full, thought out ones that the person might actually _enjoy_"

"Why are you being so demanding this year? Perhaps you didn't like your present last year?" Hidan snickered, knowing all too well he _hadn't_ been too fond of the bedazzled assortment of colorful socks he had gotten from Tobi the year prior, some stripes, some flowers, some a mixture of skulls and stripes, and some a mixture with all three, hearts and unicorns included.

"Tobi really worked hard to get socks Leader-sama would enjoy, okay?" Tobi was out-raged they were making fun of his present. He would have _loved _to recieve that present, truth be told.

"We're all sure you did Tobi." Sakura patted him supportively on the shoulder.

Pein stared at Tobi for a few short seconds. "Anyway," he turned back to the rest of the Akatsuki members "do I make myself clear?"

"But, what if we _genuinely _don't know what to get the person?" Deidara asked. You see, he was never all to good at picking out presents for people...

"We've all known each other for _at least _5 years now. There shouldn't be a problem. But even if there is, you can ask a fellow Akatsuki member for suggestions, but you cannot by any means ask your Secret Santa what they want."

Deidara grumbled a little, but nevertheless kept quiet.

"Anymore questions?" Pein asked, really hoping that no one else did, because he really didn't want to spend too much time here.

Sakura nervously raised her hand. "Umm... is there like a... budget? I don't really have too much money, you see." Sakura grinned nervously. You couldn't blame her; she hadn't done missions since her supposed death, so her income had literally dropped down to zilch.

"Ahh, thats right..." Pein turned to Kakuzu, for he was the "treasurer" of the group.

Kakuzu stood up, searching his pocket for some pieces of paper. "Throughout these past two months I have noted with full detail who spent how much on what, and based on that performance, you will be given your budget, you could say. If you spent a lot, you will most likely be given a smaller amount,

Several Akatsuki members groaned, namely Konan, Deidara, and Sasori, though his grumble was a lot less noticed than the latter, while others grinned in glee, or simply smirked, namely Kisame, Tobi (he had been an exceptionally good boy this year, you see), and Hidan, even though people like Itachi and Zetsu hardly ever spent anything (but why would they be excited about getting people presents?)

"Now, if you wish to spend higher than what you have been given, it is all fine and dandy," Hopes were raised, "but it must come out of your own pocket." -and lost all at once. "And as for Sakura, you shall be given a decent amount as your spending money, considering you yourself don't have any way of _recieving any_." Kakuzu explained. "You can thank Pein for that, because I surely wouldn't have given you any." the last part was but a whisper, but it could still be heard. But, Sakura didn't hold it against him; she knew he was a greedy guy, who loved money.

"Alright, now that's everything's settled, I'll be on my way then," Pein made to stand up, but Sakura, nervously almost stuck her hand up once again.

"I'm new to this whole "Akatsuki, Secret Santa" experience and all, and I don't quite know how things work around here, but shouldn't we... you know... _draw _our Secret Santa's name, before settling this whole thing?"

Sakura had made so much sense, Pein didn't actually understand how he had completely _forgotten _that miniscule detail. _Of course _they needed to draw names from a hat! How else would they get their Secret Santa? "Right..." he sat back down. "Konan, will you do the honors?"

"Certainly."

And before she knew it, she had a shredded 11 pieces of paper

_Sakura, __Itachi_

_Kisame, __Konan _

_Kakuzu, __Pein, _

_Zetsu, __Sasori_

_Deidara, __Tobi_

_and lost but not least, Hidan_

One by one, their names had been written, and their individual piece of paper crumpled into a little ball. Once she was done with all of them, she grabbed a random bowl from the kitchen, poured them in, and began shaking the bowl.

_'I hope I get Sakura... or Pein...' _Konan was hopeful.

"Alright everyone, pick one."

She was the first to pick her paper, and then she passed it to Pein, who promptly picked up his own piece of paper, and then passed the bowl to the next person, Sakura, and so and and so forth, passing it on to whoever was next, until it was Itachi who picked up the last paper.

"Alright everyone, at the count of three, we all open it." Konan exclaimed.

Sakura could hardly wait to see who se had gotten. She hoped it was someone she knew enough about, because she didn't know a _thing _about Pein, or Kakuzu, so how could she possibly get them anything?

"One... two... and... three!"

* * *

_'Neither Sakura **nor **Pein. Just my luck.' _Konan thought sourly as she laid on her bed, her little piece of paper placed neatly on her stomach as she contemplated her fate.

_Hidan_

Why of all people did she have to get _him, _the person she least got along with in the entire base? She really wouldn't have any problem with him if it weren't for his _sexist attitude_... and... perhaps, his whole ritual thing too but, that was beside the point right now.

Well, maybe since she didn't have Sakura, she could conspire what she could possibly get Hidan with her. So with that thought in mind, she tossed her piece of paper to the side and aimlessly got up, exiting her room and going towards the kitchen, where she had last spotted Sakura.

Upon her arrival, she noticed Sakura was no longer there.

"Have any of you guys seen Sakura?" She looked at the members that made up the room, which were Deidara, Tobi, and Sasori.

"No, sorry un."

"Tobi could swear Sakura-chan said she was going to her room"

"Thanks Tobi." she was off before anyone could question her, sensing that something was troubling Deidara.

"Man, and I had been _hoping _she could give me ideas for a present." Deidara glowered, as he sunk into his chair, his head laying on the dining table.

Sasori chuckled lightly. "Don't tell me..."

Deidara nodded his head solemnly, bobbing it as much as he could from its place on the table, showing his piece of paper. "I got Sakura."

"Oooh," Tobi awed his paper. "And Tobi had been hoping Tobi would get the pretty cherry blossom!" he complained. "But it's alright! Tobi got someone he loves just as much!" his fire returned seconds later, fueled by the power of the Christmas spirit. "I'll make sure Itachi-kun recieves the best present he has ever recieved in all his years of living!" he exclaimed loudly.

(From somewhere in the training grounds training with Kisame, Itachi couldn't help but shiver for some unknown reason)

Sasori just smirked.

* * *

Sakura heard a knock on the door.

"Hey, it's Konan."

Sakura, just getting out of the shower, immediately went to the door and opened it. "Hey Konan." she greeted her with a smile, moving aside so Konan could enter her room.

"So, tell me why I had the luck of getting _Hidan._" she crinkled her nose while she said it, even though Sakura had her back turned to her and could not see it.

Sakura laughed. "Luckily, I got Kisame. I mean, I hardly know much about the guy, but it sure beats getting Kakuzu or something." she laughed as she closed the door behind her.

"Getting Kisame something is _so _much easier than Hidan." Konan replied bitterly.

"Well I don't know about that." Sakura said as she walked to her bed, her hands working on her hair as she used her towel to dry it. "I mean, most would probably think: "Hey, Kisame, exotic fish!" or "aquarium!" or something like that, and I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like much of a Christmas present to me, y'know?" Sakura sighed. "It's supposed to be something memorable, something that expresses how much you really care for said person." Sakura smiled fondly. Kisame had been one of the first friends she had made after her death. Surely her present had to show just how much she appreciated the friendship he had given her when she had no one else. So how was she supposed to top that?

"Well, I don't really _care _for Hidan, in that friendly, mushy kind of way, so I might as well be screwed already." Konan groaned as she stuffed her face in Sakura's pillow, while Sakura merely laughed.

"I'm sure you'll think of something Konan, don't worry. At least you didn't get Zetsu... I mean, whoever got him must surely be out of luck..."

"Yeah..." Konan contemplated, lifting her head from the pillow and bringing it to her chest as she looked up, "I guess you're right"

* * *

_Zetsu _

He still couldn't believe his cursed luck. Out of all the deranged and just plain _wierd _members, he had to get the wierdest and most psychotic deranged one of them all. I mean, he _ate other humans!_ Surely that brought him up on a whole new level of psychotic-ness all on its own!

Man, what was Pein going to do now? This whole "_true presents_" crap had sounded like a good idea to him, mainly because he thought he would just simply get Konan, or Tobi (give him a teddy bear and he'll be happy, you see), or someone along those lines. Hell, even _Kakuzu _was more do-able then Zetsu. But man was he _wrong_.

Curse his fate. Mayb he should make it a rule where you could _trade _the person you got...? Regardless of the fact, no one would probably want to switch with him, so it was hopeless.

_'Stupid Secret Santa.' _he grumbled.

* * *

"So... this is going to be one crazy Christmas, isn't it?" Kisame tried to start some conversation, finally done with training. The sun was setting, giving the sky that pink/orange hue as they walked back to the base.

"Hn"

"Yeah... and these presents are going to be _pretty _hard to get, considering we don't really know much about each other..." he dragged on.

"Hn..."

"One could only hope we both got someone we know well enough for this..." and yet again, he dragged on.

Itachi merely raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to ask me who I got?"

Yeah, Kisame hadn't been to subtle as it was. "Noooo..." he trailed off. "I was hoping maybe you'd... offer up." he grinned.

"Why?" he merely questioned, glancing at Kisame for the slightest of seconds as they entered the base.

Kisame shrugged their shoulders. "You know, just because... if you have someone I _know _particularly well, then I could give you some hints as to what you could get them exactly..." Kisame was insinuating something behind his words.

"...Hn"

"Come on Itachi!" Why can't you just tell me who you got?" he complained.

"I am not onbligated to do so." he turned as they rounded a corner.

"They only reason you maybe have for _not _telling me would be if you had me... but that's wouldn't be the case... would it?" Kisame's hope was increasing by the second.

"You think?" Itachi questioned.

"Yes, I do, matter of fact." Kisame nodded.

"Think what you will." Itachi dismissed it.

"Do you have me or not?" Kisame glared slightly.

"There's a chance that I do, and there's a chance that I dont."

"You didn't _deny _not being my Secret Santa." Kisame grinned.

"I didn't accept to being it either." Itachi nodded.

"Right..." Kisame grinned. He _so _caught Itachi red-handed. Now that he knew he was his Secret Santa, he could make sure he got an uber cool present, unlike the clown-fish he had gotten last year (not that Nemo hadn't been a fine fish... for the three days he had had him...)

And so, Kisame walked alongside Itachi, humming a merry jingle.

Meanwhile, Itachi just smirked. _'Fool' _he looked at his crumbled piece of paper quickly, having Kisame not notice a thing.

_Pein_

* * *

_Curse his luck_

The one person he _truly _despised out of the whole base, and he got stuck with him.

_'Screw freaken Kakuzu.' _Hidan crinckled his noise in disgust. Come on, he was already his partner! Why have Hidan be his secret Santa too? It was just too much, if you ask him.

Making his way to his bedroom, he came upon Sasori, who was going the same direction as him, herhaps to his bedroom, but at a slower pace, brushing shoulders. "Watch it, would you." Hidan growled. He didn't usually hold an air of animosity around him, but he was just angry right now. Who knew what Pein would do if he couldn't come up with at least a decent present.

Sasori in response merely glared, considering perhaps killing him.

With a big sigh, Hidan counted to 10 quickly. "Sorry I'm just... frustrated." he glowered. Sasori was actually surprised Hidan had apologized. "You see, I got Kakuzu, and.. well..." he didn't even need to finish his sentence.

Sasori stared at him with a bored face expression, finally parting his lips after several moments. "It's better than getting Zetsu." and with that simple comment, he walked off, going on ahead.

_'So Sasori has Zetsu huh? And I was feeling bad for **me**. He'll have it tough, that's for sure...' _But, he supposed, Sasori was a smart guy, he'd figure out what he could get Zetsu.

But then again... why shouldn't he be able to as well? He definitely wasn't as smart as Itachi or Sasori, but he _was _Kakuzu's partner, so he knew a little bit more about him than most.

Pshht, and he felt bad for himself, look at Sasori! He was royally _screwed! _Not only was Zetsu the most secluded member of all of them (Pein was afraid he'd get hungry and want to eat someone, in which said Akatsuki member would definitely retaliate and try to kill Zetsu,starting a war inside Akatsuki itself), but Sasori wasn't the most social of butterflies here, so _of course _he knew absolutely nothing of Zetsu.

With his determination anew, he set off to his room, planning to figure out what he could possibly get Kakuzu. _'At least I didn't get Zetsu.' _he would mentally repeat in his head over and over every now and then when he decided to lose hope. He caught up Sasori, this time now brushing shoulders, and definitely no growling in sight. He grinned slightly, almost unnoticeable, but one could tell he was in a happy mood.

Meanwhile, Sasori just glanced at him from the corner of his eyes.

_Ehh, what the hell_

That was what he had been thinking the moment he decided to help Hidan. It was Christmas, after all, he supposed. He knew particularly well, based on previous actions, that Hidan got frustrated easily, but also he always felt better about himself when other people had it _worse than him_. That had been why, after all, he had mentioned the whole "Zetsu" thing, not that _he _had Zetsu to begin with.

But hey, he smirked slightly. _'It's fun messing with people.'_

* * *

"Hey, Sasori un. You never told us who _you _got."

Deidara was now lounging on the couch, Hidan and the couch next to him, Sasori in the kitchen, roaming the fridge (he found his human body was hungry often, almost as if trying to regain all this years of food he should have digested when he was a puppet, but that was just him, because he wasn't used to eating, and everyone else knew he just had a big appetite), and Tobi on the floor right next to Deidara's couch, watching some silly little cartoon in black and white. Yeah, those that have funny little mice running around, with violence in every corner, and pianos' following from the sky.

Sasori was partially contemplating perhaps shooting out Zetsu again, but then again... that would be _boring_.

"I got Hidan."

Deidara scoffed, and Tobi was too intent on his TV show to notice the world around him. "Do you have any idea what you could possibly get him?"

"A dead body perhaps." Of course, it was meant as a joke, and Deidara just chuckled.

"Good luck with that." he sighed. "But then again, it couldn't be any worse than-"

"Sakura." Sasori dutifully acknowledged her presense, along with Konan's, as they entered the kitchen, dressed in their sleep garments, which, of course, were night gowns.

Deidara nearly jumped at his statement, giving an alarmed expression as he turned around to see Sakura and Konan in their respective sleeping gowns, Sakura's a light blue color, and Konan's a light bubble gum pink, almost like Sakura's hair. (For some reason, they looked like twins) Deidaragave Sasori a look, almost as if saying "thanks for saving my behind." and promptly began to stutter. "H-H-Hey Sakura... Konan."

"Hey... Deidara?" Sakura was confused by his sudden alert-ness, almost as if someone had smacked him awake just then.

He laughed nervously. "H-H-How's it g-going?"

Sakura gave him an odd look as she went to grab an apple. "Just fine, having a sleep over with Konan...and yourself?"

"Good too, I s-s-suppose."

"That's... good to hear, I suppose." (Was it just her, or was this conversatio nawfully awkward for some reason?)

And it was, so Deidara quickly decided to change the subject. "So... who did you guys get?"

And right at that moment, Kisame and Itachi walked in, a little roughed up (in Kisame's case) and a litle dirty, but nonetheless decent.

Sakura looked at Konan nervously. She coudn't just spit out she had Kisame's name! And if she said a random one and lied, and someone in the room had said person, they would know she was lying and her secret would be revealed (don't ask her how, but she just had a feeling it would).

"Why do you want to know?" Konan raised an eyebrow, trying to get the attention off of Sakura.

Deidara merely shrugged from his place in the couch. "I was just curious, is all. Just tell me, it's no biggie."

"Well.. ummm..." Konan looked at the occupants in the room, making sure Hidan was nowhere in sight, "I uhh... got Hidan." she almost figeted under the pressure of having to tell all those people who she got just because she was trying to save Sakura's ass.

Deidara's eyes widened, as he glanced at Sasori for the slightest of moments.

_But **Sasori **had Hidan_

And, Deidara noted with dull interest, Konan seemed slightly... _fidgety _at telling them who she had... _almost as if she were lying_.

So why was it she had been so defensive about it? Perhaps... was it...

_Konan had him?_

He seemed content with his resolution, not stopping to think it over twice (I mean, _Sasori-danna _wouldn't like to him or anything! Pshht, that's preposterous!)

Almost smugly, Deidara leaned back on the couch, arms crossed across his chest. "That's nice."

"And who'd you get, Sasori?" Sakura questioned from the sidelines.

Deidara peeked an eye, almost as if telling him _not _to say Hidan, because then everyone would know that Konan had been lying. "I got Kakuzu." he decided, that since he didn't know who else had what in this room, he would settle with Hidan's, because he knew there would be no confusion there (unless somebody had asked Hidan, but he doubted that was the case).

Kisame chuckled slightly from the background "Tough luck."

"Isn't it?" Sasori nodded is head slightly, faking a frown.

"And who'd you get, sharky?" Sakura teased as she grinned at Kisame.

Kisame closed his eyes, and opened one, almost as if peeking out of it. "Well, if you most know, I actually got you, pinky." he grinned as he ruffled her hair.

"Not funny." she scowled, but nevertheless accepted the little form of affection. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"

"But I just did, I got you." he winked teasingly at her.

"Right... well, that's good, because I wasn't going to tell you who _I _got anyway." she grumbled.

"I wasn't asking, kitten." he grinned. _'The only person i need to know is whoever has **me,** and I already figured that out.' _he thought, grinning madly inside his head.

"Jerk." she frowned, glaring at him.

Kisame laughed, which made Sakrua smile seconds afterwards. "Well, if you will excuse me, Konan and I have a sleepover we must attend to. We just came here to grab some stuff."

"Yeah, the usual junk food and all that good stuff." Konan already had in her hands handfuls of bags of chips, cookies, and even the big bucket of neapolitan ice cream.

"You _are _aware that will melt in the next two hours right?"

"Well then I guess me and Sakura should get to eating, shouldn't we?" Konan's voice was serious, but she chuckled lightly seconds later when most of the males in the room looked at them sort of funny (two small girls eating bucket of ice-cream? Come on now...! Even Kisame and Hidan couldn't finish it in their ice-cream eating contest). "I have a mini-fridge in my room, get real." she scoffed. "Come on Sakura." and they began to left, Konan not really liking being all... _revealed _in front of the Akatsuki members (in the sense that she never looked girly in front of any of them in fear the sexist attitudes may start up again).

Sakura nodded quickly, and mid the rest of the Akatsuki members goodnight, even though it was only around 7:00, but she doubted she'd be seeing them again for the rest of the day.

* * *

This mission to Sand was more annoying than Saki could have ever imagined it to be. I mean, sure, she had the hag Shizune and Naruto as baggage, but... _Sasuke! _She was on a mission with Sasuke! But, she hadn't expected it to just be so... aggravating!

_Saki do this! Saki do that! No, Saki, don't touch that!_

Every corner she turned, she was being thrown instructions and sent on errands she had no clue on how to accomplish. And worst of all, she hardly caught a glimpse of Sasuke nowadays, seeing as she was so busy, and Shizune was just so, _so _demanding of her, and Naruto and Sasuke were running around doing who knows what with that pinneapple head Shikamaru, and Temari.

But all her troubles put to rest, she heard Tsunade gave them an extra day to stay in Suna and do whatever they pleased, which she had heard the Suna sibling Temari had arranged a small practical dinner, where they cool eat, chill, and relax.

_And hang out with Sasuke!_

And perhaps she would be able to befriend Temari, or whatever. She seemed to be pretty important (Ambassador of Suna, if she had heard correctly, and even at such a young age no less!), and perhaps she knew Sasuke a little. I mean, so it had seemed, they had known each other for a while (Sasuke had successfully acknowldged her being, after all).

Was it just her, or was everybody here connected in someway due to their childhood?

The unwavering heat and sour moods everywhere (all of which hers, Shizune's Sasuke's, Shikamaru's, and even the Kazekage's) almost made everyone forget that Christmas was fast approaching, bringing with it all the mistletoes and Christmas wreaths, and all the holly jolly-ness of Christmas.

But Naruto and Kankuro didn't forget, even going as far as to buy some little Christmas trinkets to put up around the rooms, as to brighten the modd however they possibly could.

But Sasuke, with his foul mood and ill demeanor didn't really seem to brighten up, not even with Naruto's vain attempts. Why would he bother anyway?  
It's not like Christmas would be Christmas without Sakura as it was.

Every year, ever since Sakura had turned 16, she would throw a big Christmas Party, where only her cloest friends and family would go (namely all of the Rookie 9, along with Team Gai, Tsunade, Shizune, and some of the medical staff she was close to, with a bunch of several others here and there). There would be a big feast, all of which foods made by Sakura, and the occasional dish by Shizune, Hinata, and Kurenai, and they would all eat to their hearts content. Later, they would sit aroudn the fire and think back to all the fun, and not so fun times throughout the year, praying for anyone who had passed, wishing luck to whoever needed it, and so on and so forth.

And then came the fun part.

The Secret Santas

Oh, even he had to admit he loved partaking in those festivities even when he had been cursed with the ill-fated luck of drawing out of the hat _Gai, _of all people_. _But it was alright, because Gai was simply over-joyed to get a black jumpsuit, not unlike his. (And let's just say, it had been so popular, even Lee had begged Sasuke to tell him where he had gotten such exquisite fashionable clothing, for he must have one just like it as well).

But, that was all thanks to Sakura, and since she was no longer with them,

(rather, she was with Akatsuki xD)

-there would not be a Christmas this year for him.

**End of Chapter!**

**Alright, the next chapter will get more in depth with the Akatsuki Christmas, and the Saki-hating will ensue (thanks to Temari and Gaara) hopefully**

**I truly apologize that it has been 2 months since my last update, but now since I am on summer vacation, expect quicker updates.**

**Also, on another note, this story WILL be ending soon, and will be branched into 2 seperate but totally not unlike each other stories, one SakuxSasu, and the other SakuxIta. And seeing as only one story is finishing, but TWO are being added, the update times will be... slower... not to mention i may lean on one couple more than the other, or have a sudden epiphamy on one, but not the other, so the updating times may not be entirely equal, though I will try to do so as much as I can.**

**That being said, I think I am done with my Author's Note :D**

**Any and all feedback is much appreciated!**

**-Marzy-chan~~! :))**

**P.S.: For those of you who would like to know, the next story I am currently working on is _Sakura's New Past_**


	17. Plans

**Chapter 17: Plans**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters in any way, shape, or form.**

Pein was quitely doing away with his humongous stack of paperwork when he heard a firm knock on his door.

Ahh yes, the person he had asked to see.

"Come in."

And in walked Itachi, and all his glorious Uchiha self. He strode across the room elegantly and sat down expectantly on one of the nearby chairs, in front of Pein's desk and waited patiently.

Pein finished scribbling down a few things on a random paper, before dropping the pen, putting the paper aside somewhere else on a not as big pile of completely finished paperwork, and folding his hand in front of him, giving Itachi his full and undivided attention. "So, describe the situation in Sound." the simple words rolled out from his mouth as if it were the sole reason for his very being, for having Itachi come to him _so _early in the morning... because if one thought about it, he really only enjoyed peace and quiet, and not to mention lonliness, at such early times of the day (he supposed Konan _could _be made an exception). Yes, that did mean, in a soft sort of way of putting it, that he disliked many of his underlings.

"As one can presume, it is filled with renegade ninja of the sort and is in pure chaos." Itachi confirmed Pein's previous thoughts. After the completement of the mission, meaning, Sakura had obtained the scroll they needed, Itachi was left to scouting around Oto and taking in the whole situation, the ruins it was left in, and the time it could possibly take to _rebuild _it, not to mention.

"But...?" he waited patiently, sensing that there was more Itachi had to say, but mainly _hoping _that that was the case.

"But... there is hope." Itachi acknowledged what Pein had been willing to hear.

"And Sakura?" Pein questioned, as if there had been some sort of understanding between the two.

Itachi nodded slightly. "She _is _the hope Leader-sama." Itachi announced, which surprised Pein, considering Itachi never offered to _praise _anyone of the sort, and telling him that _she _was the key to their master plan, well... that, in a way, meant _big _praise. "She seems to have taken an interest in Sound as well... a liking, if you could... she may definitely serve as a pawn."

"I see..." he muttered this, mainly to himself. "No, she will not become a pawn. Many of the Akatsuki members seem to have taken fondly to her... not a pawn..." he searched his brain for the right words, "_an asset_." he clarified, liking the idea. _'Yes... a very valuable asset_.'

"Now, that is if she agrees, anyhow." Itachi's voice snapped Pein out of his train of thoughts of world domination, and other things not unlike the whole "global dominance" plan.

"Yes, of course." he confirmed. "Send her over please, you come along too."

Itachi stood, bowed slightly, and then walked off.

* * *

Sakura heard a firm knock on her door, waking her from her deep slumber.

_'Ehh?' _her drowsy self looked around the room, trying to figure out where she was, what time it was, and where that _annoying _knock was coming from. Seriously, when she got her hands on whoever was making that annoying noise... well, you wouldn't want to know, let's just leave it at that.

"Nrr...make it stop..." Konan talked in her sleep beside her, grabbing a random pillow and bringing it to her chest, where she promtply hugged it, and fell asleep once more.

Sakura rolled her eyes, mainly because she was upset she couldn't be that heavy of a sleeper (But Itachi would beg to differ), as she groggily got out of bed after hearing the knock once more. She nearly triped on some blankets, stepping on some potato chips, as she hurried to the door, which just served to increase her anger that much more. She flung it open. "Whattya want?" she glared fiercely, slurred language and all, only to realize that it was _Itachi_, of all people, staring down at her oddly.

Well, of course he would. Her hair was disheveled in a pink puffy mess of fluff, her night gown was all revealed no thanks to her moving all crazily in her sleep, and she had that face expression that just _screamed _"Awww, crap". After all, he _wouldn't _be embarassed looking all crazy in front of someone so darn _perfect? _Itachi would never admit it, but it was rather amusing.

Still, he cut down straight to the point. "Leader-sama wishes to speak to you."

_'What? What did I do this time?' _No, she wasn't panicking, she was just _enraged _Pein wanted to see her this early in the morning, having already turned around and looked at the digital clock properly: _7:00. _She was on a freaking vacation right now! She didn't need this! Especially not after she and Konan had stayed up til _5:30 _the night before talking about who knows what, not that she could properly remember any of their conversations right now. She was tired, cranky, and _so _did not feel like mingling with Akatsuki bussiness, as she could already tell it probably was.

Too lazy to get dressed, and not wanting to keep Pein waiting, she quickly turned around. "Konan, I'm borrowing you're robe." It was a silk black robe with a red hem, an Akatsuki cloud sewn into it right above the left breast.

"Hmmm... that's... nice..." She didn't know if Konan heard her, or was actually mumbling in her sleep about something she was dreaming, but she could hardly care less right now, letting out a loud yawn and she exited her room, and closed the door behind her.

"Coffee?" Itachi was holding out a cup of coffee, waiting for her to accept it.

"Ahh.. yes... why thank you."

_How did he know she needed coffee?_

Well maybe he could only presume as much seeing as it _was _early in the morning, and she had been in a sleepover the night prior, but all that was irrelevant. _'Pein probably made him do it.' _

And so she followed him quietly, sipping her coffee every now and then, not knowing at all where she was going, only knowing she was following the feet in front of her, as she got lost in her own thoughts. Now that she had some coffee in her system, she could think just the slightest bit clearer. _'What could Pein possibly want from me?__'_

* * *

"Wait..." Sakura paced around Pein's office. He had told her she could take a seat, but right now, she really did _not _want to. "So let me get this straight... you want to rule over Sound... with my help..." Sakura spoke slowly, almost as if not understanding what he were truly saying.

"In a matter of speaking... yes." he nodded in acknowledgement, bluntly of course.

"..." she stayed silent, not being able to actually speak properly... or breathe, process, or even blink properly, for that matter.

"..." Both Pein and Itachi just stared at her expectantly.

"I have _so _not had enough coffee for this."

So she promptly left Pein's office, slamming his door none too gently either, in search of more coffee of course, only to get lost minutes later, which was obviously bound to happen considering she had only been in the base once prior to now, and she had been carried around by Kisame, for the most part.

Pein gave a rough sigh. Maybe going about telling her things early in the morning wasn't the best he could have done. But hell, how was _he _supposed to know she wasn't a morning person? "Go fetch her, and her coffee, I suppose." he quickly said, making a mental reminder to never ask for Sakura early in the morning; she'd be dubbed as mainly usless anyway. How could she not process such a miniscule idea? Take. Over. Sound. Three words! There was no need to _process_ anything!

(But then again, that was Pein and his way of thinking, not Sakura's)

So fifteen minutes, one Sakura, and three cups of coffee later, she was back in his office. "Let me first start off by saying you must be _demented _for wanting _me _to rule over a _nation_." Sakura was already rubbing her temples in annoyance, a trait she got from Tsunade when angered by Naruto, for the most part. Oh, if Naruto wasn't going to be the death of her, than Akatsuki surely will, she was sure of it now.

"Well, think of it this way, Sakura." Pein began. "Akatsuki does not want to _rule _over Sound. We leave that to you. It would just be most beneficial to Akatsuki to have such a big ally."

"So you want me... as... _Otokage?_" she cringed at the thought, of her new title _being _Otokage, because the previous Otokage had been Orochimaru... 'nuff said there. He was creepy, and not to mention a horrible leader, and Sakura didn't want to step into the shoes of _that, _of all things.

"Yes." Ahh, he was finally getting somewhere with her. "I understand this may be a little... _overwhelming_... but it really is rather simple."

**'A little over-whelming?' **her inner snapped harshly.

Now finally deciding to take that seat he had offered her earlier, she sat alongside Itachi, her hands tapping her cup of coffee impatiently to the point it was nearly ready to crack at the brute force of her stimulated tapping. "How would we even..."

"We know you have taken a liking to Sound, Sakura. And as you stated prior to coming here, it is large, bountiful with rescources, and, a waste to _not _make use it." It was Itachi who spoke this time, nearly taking a direct quote from her.

"I know _that, _but... _where to begin! _I've only been in the outskirts of Sound! Not to mention while on missions there I saw the state in which the villages were left... they were... _trash_, for a lack of better words." Sakura sighed lousily. "Plenty of resources, perhaps, but the place is in total _ruins._ To build schools, and hospitals, and... and... _how?_" she merely asked, not even being able to finish her questions, her thoughts, her _anything_, for that matter. Sure she knew Akatsuki was all-powerful and wealthy, but to reconstruct a whole village... and to make her the kage, no less, when no one knew _of her_... "Anyway, why _me _of all people? Why not Konan, or Itachi, or any other Akatsuki member? I'm sure they'll do the job just fine."

"The thing is, Sakura, that _because _we're Akatsuki we can't approach Sound. Konohagakure would obviously be alerted of the fact that Akatsuki has taken over Sound which would make it a viable threat, thus starting war, perhaps sooner than we would want it." Pein explained. "As you have said, to repair and construct all the damage that had been done would take forever, and everyone would jump at Sound the moment they heard Akatsuki was taking interest in it."

Sakura coudl tell he was relaying valuable information to her, so she listened intently and tried to make use of everything Pein said, sipping her coffee more confidentally now, seeing as she _really _needed to pay attention now.

"That being said, there's _you, _Sakura. To everyone, you are dead, so you have no history. As of now, no one knows of your existence, which if you think about it, is a rather useful asset to have."

-And it was, Sakura had to admit it, if she thought it over in a shinobi sort of way. Your past tied you down to your village, and family too, which also showed strengths and weaknesses, and all that other good stuff. Because she was dead, she _had_ no village she belonged to, she _had_ no family to tie her down, and she had _no one _to confirm or reject possible weaknesses and strengths that could possibly threaten her. She was a ghost with the ability to become human, which is what every renegade or missing-nin always dreamed of having.

"Not only that, but this way, no one would have the slightest idea that Akatsuki was involved in Sound. They would only see you, an oto-nin trying to reconstruct the once well-known and glorious Otogakure. And if word does eventually leak, which if it does, would be once Sound is economically stable and has properly working shinobi in its control, there is more of a viable threat from Oto, because it would be able to defend itself now, and no one would immediately begin war, which also gives us time to prepare if villages show any sign of hostility."

-And all of Pein's reasons were perfectly logical and made complete and utter sense... and everything pointed to _her_, _screamed out her name_, but she could stop not believe the task which was being presented onto her.

"And we choose you, kunoichi, because you are the only one that as of now, has close enough relations to Akatsuki to be trusted, as well as has enough strength to stand their ground in the fight that is to come. Taking over a village is a big feat, after all." It was Itachi who added his two cents once again.

And that had been what got her. He was absolutely correct about one thing: Sakura, as of now, was the **_only one_** Akatsuki had. Whether it be as a companion, ally, or close friend, she was the only relation they had to the outside world, to anyone outside of Amegakure, the only one _not _in Akatsuki who could actually be trusted (because she sure as hell would never betray Akatsuki as it was standing now, they being her only friends and all). She owed her life to them, and if you think about it, this would probably be her only opportunity to repay them for everything they had done for her.

So with a big sigh and a quick gulp of her coffee, she began. "So what's the plan?"

Both Pein and Itachi smirked, knowing they had finally convinced Sakura to be on board with the plan. "Well, it starts out a little like this..."

* * *

The day had been relatively boring for the most part, Sakura being in Pein's office with Itachi for most of the day, only to appear at around dinner time, eat, and then return to Pein's office.

"What do you suppose they're up to, un?" Deidara began conversation with Konan, sitting on the couch, as they walked out of the kitchen, both of them walking in perfect sync along each other. "Suppose Haruno has taken a liking to Itachi un?"

"Oh, what do I care?" Konan glared at Deidara. "They're walking together Deidara, big deal!" she rejected his theory quickly, going back to examining and filing her nails.

Kisame, hearing this interesting conversation, plopped down on the couch right next to Deidara. "Oh, you'd want to hear this Konan." Kisame snickered connivingly, getting ready to tell a great, fantastic tale, that would surely just totally _knock their socks off_.

Konan raised a neat eyebrow, only slightly leaning in to get a better hear of what Kisame was about to say, because if Kisame said she'd want to hear it, then there was a great chance that she really _did _want to hear it (Kisame wasn't known as the gossip starter alongside Sasori for nothing, after all). "In a scale of one to ten, how juicy is this news?" Konan asked, only half interested.

"Eleven" the simple word that slipped from his mouth left the room dead silent, almost catching the attention of Sasori and Tobi, who had until now been having a deadly staring contest for the last cookie (but Sasori had been listening closely, not wanting to be out-shined by Kisame, who apparently had information he himself had not obtainted just yet)

* * *

"_NO WAY_!" Sakura and Itachi both heard from somewhere deep inside the base a loud, shrill scream, obviously making it out as Tobi's voice, who was still most likely alongside most of the Akatsuki members in the kitchen/living room area.

"What do you suppose they're talking about?" Sakura tried to start conversation, feeling awkward and fidgety under the intimidating presense of Itachi... she hadn't realized it before, mostly because whenever she was with Itachi, she was always with Kisame as well, but he held sort of... how to describe it... an aura that said _Talk to me and Die_. Yeah, that was it...

And even though Itachi had not the slightest of clues, he could only feel it wasn't good news, considering the only ones to ever start gossip were Kisame and Sasori, both of which probably had some fairly dangerous information on him as it was (Sasori had a very analytical eye, you see... and Kisame... well, he had learned a lot more than Itachi had hoped for him to learn about him while on this mission). Sakura waited for about 3 minutes, and promptly dubbed it worthless to try starting a conversation with Itachi again. I mean, let's face it, it would never take Itachi more than even two seconds to completely analyze a situation and then give feedback, so if he hadn't done so already, it meant that she shouldn't raise her hopes up for a response.

So initially, Sakura just mentally sighed and pondered her question in her mind. What _could _they possibly be talking about? Enough to get them all bolstered up, and all...?

Consequently, the day had been nothing but boring, what with Sakura being imprisoned inside Pein's office with the two most anti-social people in the whole base (excluding Sasori, who topped Pein). So once finally being allowed to leave (at 11:00 p.m., mind you), Sakura was drained and looking more like a zombie than she ever had! Seriously, all this political, financial, and economical mumbo-jumbo sure did drain a person out, even more that 14 hour shifts at the hospital (none too gentle shifts, might I add). After all, a couple of soldier pills would do the trick, and there was only _so far _coffee could get her in one day...

So with a quick shower and a midnight snack which consisted of some chocolate chip cookies and milk, she was off to bed, hoping for a better day tomorrow.

* * *

Christmas was fast approaching for all the citizens in Konoha, which only meant one thing: Decorations. And as was routine for the hospital, Christmas lights, wreaths, and mistle-toe were being set up all across the hospital.

So there Ino was, minding her own bussiness on top of a ladder, placing up a wreath while humming to "deck the halls"

"Hey Ino!"

The sudden noise startled her enough for her to lose her balance (did I mention she had been leaning pretty far in? Stupid short arms of hers...)

"Ahrgg!" Ino tried to maintain her balance on the now wobbly ladder, she really did, but after several seconds, she could no longer hold it, and down she fell, falling backwards-

-And into the hands of Sai, who merely blinked up at her in curiosity.

Ino blushed in embarrasement, quickly turning a shade of pink. "Thanks"

"Ahh..." he quirked his head to the side, curiously almost.

She stared at him for a few more seconds, before she whipped her head the other direction and glared. "Haven't I already told you _not _to sneak up on me?" her glare hardened as her eyes landed on Kiba, who merely grinned bashfully.

"S-Sorry Ino-chan." Hinata bowed respectfully to her, apologizing in Kiba's behalf.

Ino glared a few seconds longer, before she dropped the glare with a sigh. "So what brings you all here?"

"Well... we had all been discussing what would be done for Christmas this year..." Kiba began, shrugging. "But it had never been our place to do so prior to this winter." he used those words instead of "prior to Sakura's death".

"I see..." Ino nodded, waiting for him to go on.

"But you were always second in command when it came to everything so... we just figured..." he left the question in the air, not actually stating it, but already implying it.

"Basically, we feel it is only right that you take over." Sai affirmed.

Ino sat in contemplation for a long moment. "Well... I think we should do things a little differently this year..." Ino began. "But, this matter is best set to be disscussed on another day, preferably when Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Saki come back from their mission. If I do remember correctly, Neji is at home doing some R&R because of his last mission. It wouldn't be wise to bring this up right now..." Ino frowned slightly. As she had remembered it, Neji too had grown rather fond of Sakura, for on his ANBU team, which consisted of Kiba, Chouji, Sakura, and himself, she had been the only intellectual being to be able to carry on a conversation with him.

"Hmm... alrighty." Kiba shrugged. "We just thought we should bring it up sooner, so as to have everything planned out. This Christmas will be a rather solemn one if we didn't prepare it good, after all."

"Yes," Ino nodded "I am aware of that."

"W-Well then, we a-all decided to g-go eat BBQ t-together. You w-wanna join u-us?" Hinata offered.

"That sounds lovely, but I really must finish putting up these ornaments." Ino frowned. "How about I meet you guys there in like 10 minutes?" she suggested.

"Sounds like a plan." Kiba grinned as he turned to walk away. "Oh, and one more thing." he turned around.

"Yes?" Ino questioned.

"Shouldn't you be put down?" That cheeky grin on his face told her everything it needed to.

Ino quickly flushed pink once more having realized that Sai was still carrying her bridal style (and when did her arms magically find their way to rest on his neck?)

* * *

Sakura was awakened by a loud banging on her door. "Nhh... go away." Sakura made a feeble attempt to block the sound by stuffing her face in a pillow, but found that the only thing she actually did was cut the flow of oxygen to her lungs. She almost thought it could be Itachi again, there to drag her back into Pein's office at some mundane time of day.

"Come on Sakura! Get up!" She distictly heard a women's voice -obviously Konan, which quickly ruled out the possibility that whatever was to happen next would be unpleasurable.

With a quick bitter sigh, she threw the pillow aside, making it land somewhere on the floor, as she got up and made her way to the door. "What is it?" she glared sourly as she opened the door-

-only to find that Konan herself was accompanied by Deidara, who was now blushing a furious pink (did she mention she had gone to sleep in a sports bra? It got more than cozy in the Akatsuki base, what with it being well insulated and all...), not that she paid all too much attention to it.

_'My hair!' _she bellowed inside her mind as she promptly shut the door directly on their faces, and quickly turned around to find a brush, throwing on a black silk robe (which apprently, had not been Konan's, but was given to her as a present from the Akatsuki, as part of the "hospitality" package deal) while she was at it.

She opened the door once more about a minute later, her hair tied back in a slick pony-tail so as to make herself at least look _presentable _this early in the morning. "How may I help you two?" she narrowed her eyes slightly at Konan, because she had distinctly told her the night of their sleep over how she she _loathed _being woken up early when on vacation... and technically, this _was _her vacation.

"Get ready and meet us down for breakfast. Today Kakuzu is passing out our budgets, and after that some of us are going shopping."

Yes, the 's' word sure did brighten Sakura's mood up drastically, completely forgetting that she had flashed Deidara with the morning horror that was Sakura before her daily routine. "S-Shopping...?" she questioned hopefully, feeling as if she didn't comfirm it that it wouldn't be real to begin with.

"Yes, shopping." Konan sounded just as equally excited as her, because let's face it, being the only girl in the base, she never really _had _an excuse to go shopping other than Christmas and Pein's birthday, because no one would bother to accompany her, and let's face it, going shopping by yourself is utterly _boring, _and to some extent means that your life needs some serious change (and it did, seeing as she was the only girl in Akatsuki).

"Great, I'll be out in ten." And with that, Sakura shut the door, directly running to her bathroom to take the quickest shower she could possibly take, as well as brushing her teeth and putting on clothes. She was out of her room in nine minutes and fourty-nine seconds, hands in her hair, using her towel to try and dry her hair as best she could.

"Right on time," Konan chuckled lightly.

"But of course. I wouldn't want to miss this." Sakura rolled her eyes, as all three of them walked to the kitchen in silence, Deidara oddly quiet (but then again, who wouldn't be when the other two people were talking silly girl stuff and he couldn't relate at all?).

* * *

**(A/N: I'm just going to convert the money in dollars because I'm lazy ;[)**

"Are you serious un?" Deidara complained loudly. Fifty lousy bucks? That's all he got? I mean, he _knew _he had spent a lot of money lately, but... _come on_!

"Moving on," Kakuzu dismiseed Deidara's antics with a roll of his eyes (Truth be told, Deidara spent the most money this year, and such a low budget was probably based on that, plus the fact that he was tired of having to stitch up Deidara everytime he returned from a mission) and moved on to Kisame. "Two hundred and fifty for you."

Kisame made a small fist pump, almost rubbing it in Deidara's face, as he gleefully smirked. With all that money, he almost _knew _the present he would give to the person who's name was now crumbled up on a small paper inside his coat. Heck, he might even throw in a bonus for a certain someone, most likely Itachi, or Sakura even, for they were the people he was actually closest to.

Little by little their given amounts were given, with Deidara's amount being one of the lowest given throughout the entire members, much to his great chagrin. With so little money, that meant he had to pitch in with the little money he still had left in his own money, which probably couldn't be more than fourty bucks! How was he supposed to get an ubberly fantastic present for Sakura now? Not to mention that he had been hoping to have enough money to spare after everything to maybe get his precious Sasori-danna a present too!

Well, he was royall screwed...

"So when will we be going shopping?" Sakura asked, as she plopped down on the couch in between Konan and Tobi, who had been unusually quiet, thinking of what he could get Itachi (even though no one knew that was why he was particularly quiet).

"We usually travel in groups, so if no one is feeling up for it today, we'll probably go tomorrow or something." Konan shrugged it off. "Besides, most still have to figure out what exactly they're going to get, considering almost everyone here lacks the common knowledge in the field of good presents, and some are even brain-dead for it." And yes, by that, she was talking about unfortunate souls like Tobi who thought a cookie jar was a great present, and Hidan.

Sakura sighed in pity. And she had _so _been looking forward to looking around for presents (this was her favorite part of the year, after all, and she'd be damned if she'd let some measley holiday blues ruin it for her). Nevertheless, there wasn't much she could do about it today, so she let it slide.

* * *

"Wow..." Sakura stopped in her tracks to awe at the spirit of it all. She had to admit, all things considered, Amegakure was a pretty holly jolly place, even if it was reknown for having the Akatsuki of all things pulling the strings.

(Yet another reason why Sakura truly believed that underneath it all, Akatsuki was actually _good_)

"Come on Sakura, it's best not to get lost here." Konan whispered, hidden behind a henge which turned her eyes a dull brown and her hair longer. Her usualy Akatsuki cloak was replaced by a neat off-the-shoulder red woollen long-sleeve, and some regular black pants, with boots to match.

"Right" Sakura snapped out of her trance, being reminded that, holly or not, Ame was still a pretty big and dangerous place to be at, considering the only real police force _was _Akatsuki, who did little to check who came in and out of the city itself because of Pain's never-ending rain, that sensed any _real _danger. So yes, naturally, it would be a pretty unsafe place with bandits and creepers hanging around alleys and what not, and absolutely no one to stop them (Pein wouldn't dare waste his time with idle bandits of the sort when he had bigger threats at hand after all). One just had to know which alleys exactly not to encounter, and they would be fine.

Amidst the chaos and confusion that the holiday hussle always brought, Sakura managed to get lost three times, all of which it seemed like she would either be pick-pocketed, or raped by a drunk-looking man, but Sakura hadn't been to scared: not only was she able to fend for herself, but she also had Konan looking out for her, as much reassurance and she could possibly need in a city like Amegakure, where she _knew _she wouldn't have to fear encountering Suna or Konoha ninja, or any of the sort that could possibly threaten her new life style. Mind you, a life style she was starting to seriously enjoy.

_This was the life !_

No work, no duties, no... _nothing_! Even though from time to time, she wished she had something to do, she could to agree this was the life.

"Come on Sakura, let's go in here!" Before Sakura had any time to register what was actually going on, she was pulled into a random store, where she was forced to try on all sorts of clothing, although she honestly didn't mind too much... She had missed doing things like these with Hinata, Ino, and TenTen... It had, after all, been forever since she had last spent her time eagerly shopping with a fellow kunoichi.

_She had missed this._

* * *

"Good morning Sasuke-kun!" Saki exclaimed loudly, entering the dining area where she had been told to meet the rest of Team 7 for breakfast. Breakfast was one of the few rare moments she ever got to see Sasuke-kun nowadays, you see. Saki wasn't surprised to see Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara stroll in a few minutes later though, perhaps having been invited by Naruto or Shizune, not that she cared all too much.

As long as they didn't take away her time with Sasuke-kun, then she wouldn't have an issue.

They began eating shortly afterwards, Saki hardly even eating, and instead staring at Sasuke, same as always.

"Saki, since it's sunday, we're relieved from duty today."

Her own Christmas miracle! No Shizune for an entire day! "Hey Sasuke-kun, maybe we can-"

"I'm training with Naruto." he cut her off before she could even begin to suggest anything.

Saki merely frowned. "Aww, well that's no fair!" she pouted, though on the inside she was raging. The _one _time she had a chance of hanging out with Sasuke!

"You should go shopping with Temari and Shizune, or something." Naruto grinned, talking despite his full mouth.

"I have to fill out mission reports on the progress so far. Don't count on me." Shizune didn't even look up, her nose already buried in paperwork. How she was able to read, eat, _and _hear their conversation, nobody knew.

Temari, who had been sitting down at a table nearby with Shikamaru, Gaara and Kankuro, suddenly looked up. "Shopping?" her hopes were raised. Hey, she wasn't much of a girly girl, but even she missed contact with the female population (curse her for having to younger brothers, but no sisters whatsoever!).

"Yeah, with Saki!" Naruto exclaimed, swallowing the food that had been in his mouth just seconds prior.

"Oh..." Temari hid her frown. It wasn't like she didn't _like _Saki or anything... it was just that... that...

Well, to be honest, there were much too many reasons. Frankly, Temari wasn't a very social person, and she tended to scare off or creep out anyone who didn't already know her. Second of all... it was _Team 7... _The team _Sakura _had been in... There had never been a time where she had come to Suna and they _hadn't _gone shopping together.

And try as she will, Saki would never become the new Sakura.

"I guess it could be arranged." Temari gave up with a defeated sigh. Still, Saki was a guest, and she would not be rude to a kunoichi from an allied nation. Besides, if Naruto liked her then she couldn't be _too _bad, even if she _was _a Sasuke fanatic. After all, Sakura had been one too! (Which was why Temari had never liked Sakura all that much during their genin years, until she had finally proved herself when saving her brother). But whatever, she'd stop over-thinking things for now.

"You'll let me have a day off, right Gaara?" she grinned, offering Gaara a small plea of sorts. "I'm _positive_ Shikamaru wouldn't mind taking care of my paperwork for me today." her grin only managed to grow bigger when Shikamaru frowned and cursed under his breath. Unfortunately, he could not say anything for he had lost a bet. _'That's right Shikamaru... bow down to me.' _she thought evilly, snickering maniacly in her mind.

Gaara merely stared at her, and then at Saki, who got all flustered and nervous from his intense stare, and then back to Temari. "If you wish to, you may go." he merely gave her a small nod.

If he remembered correctly, Saki had been the only one who had not cried at Sakura's funeral.

In fact, Shukaku got a bit blood thirsty while near her... And if Shukaku didn't like her, then there was obviously something wrong, _some reason_ to not like her, and he would definitely keep an eye on her until he found out why.

The thought of Sakura's death still haunted him. She had saved not only him, but his entire family too, at least once. He was in debted to her forever, and even Shukaku had to admit he had become smitten with the kunoichi.

Strong but graceful, able to crush mountains if she pleased. Her strength reminded him of Kyuubi. Not to mention she had saved him from being turned into a weapon. He may be locked inside a human body now, but he knew this was freedom compared to the hell he would have been forced to be in had she, along with Naruto and Kakashi not been there to save him.

Yet there was something off about the girl, something he himself couldn't catch. If he smelled closely, he could smell the scent of Sakura's blood on her, something that couldn't be _too _unusual considering they had been teammates and had gone out on missions together. But it was different: the small was of what could be _lots _of blood, and blood that only comes from vital organs. It wouldn't add up, if the report on her death was accurate and explained that she had bene blown up by a jutsu.

But that was all Shukaku's paranoia. The Haruno had been gone for about a month now, and even his keen nose had trouble sniffing it out, despite the blood lust that drove his very being. Had he been more aware of the Saki girl at the time of her funeral, maybe the scent would have been stronger.

He supposed he'd have to wait some more before he could reveal his entire suspicions to Gaara though. Shukaku didn't need him torturing the girl without any true suspicions, even though the thought _did_ please him slightly.

Only time would tell...

**End of Chapter**

**I know it's been a while, but at least I got it up x_x. I was so busy studying for finals I couldn't update. But, fortunately, winter break is here :D Yayy ! The next stories I'm working on are _Somewhere we Belong_ and _Sakura's Heavenly_ Mistake, she be on the look out for those!**

**Any and all feedback is much appreciated!**

**-Marzy-chan~~! :))**


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